Anticipatory bail under money-laundering law denied where the court found no prima facie case against the alleged offender.

Anticipatory bail under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 was refused because the allegations involved large-scale fraud, laundering of proceeds of crime, and attachment of properties already made in the case. On the material on record, the HC found it could not record a finding that the accused-applicant was not prima facie guilty of the offence. As the statutory bail requirement was therefore not met, the application for anticipatory bail was rejected.

---

---

Issues: Whether the accused-applicant was entitled to anticipatory bail in a prosecution under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002, in view of the allegations of laundering proceeds of crime and the rigour of the statutory bail conditions.

Analysis: The bail request was considered against the allegations of large-scale fraud, laundering of a substantial amount, and attachment of properties under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002. In view of the material on record and the attachment already made, the Court found that it could not record a finding that the accused-applicant was not prima facie guilty of the offence. On that basis, the Court held that the statutory requirement for grant of anticipatory bail was not satisfied.

Conclusion: The application for anticipatory bail was rejected.

---