On Tuesday, the Delhi High Court sought the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) response to a bail petition filed by businessman Harsatinder Pal Singh Hayer, an accused in a money laundering case connected to the alleged ₹48,000 crore investor fraud linked to Pearls Agrotech Corporation Limited (PACL).
Justice Girish Kathpalia directed the issuance of notice to the ED and scheduled the case for further consideration on September 19. Hayer, the son-in-law of the late PACL chairperson Nirmal Singh Bhangoo, is presently in judicial custody in connection with the ED proceedings. He is already on bail in a related case prosecuted by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
Harsatinder Pal Singh Hayer's present plea before the High Court follows the Rouse Avenue Court’s order denying him bail under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA). Special Judge (CBI) Jagdish Kumar, while rejecting the application, had observed that the allegations pertained to a grave economic offence involving the misappropriation of funds from a large number of investors. The court further recorded that Hayer had allegedly attempted to destroy electronic evidence, concluding that the nature and magnitude of the allegations did not warrant his release at that stage.
The counsel for Hayer argued that his client has been in custody for nearly four months, the investigation is complete, and no further custodial interrogation is required. It was submitted that Hayer was not a director in the companies that collected money from investors and lacked knowledge that funds infused into Australian companies were sourced through illegal means.
The ED, opposing the bail, contended that Hayer served as a director in two Australian entities, M/s Pearls Australasia Pty Ltd and M/s Australasia Mirage I-Pty Ltd, between 2012 and 2016, to which proceeds of crime from PACL and its associate companies were allegedly diverted. The agency alleged that ₹657.18 crore was routed into these companies and that Hayer failed to disclose properties purchased from such proceeds, either in his personal capacity or through the corporate entities under his control.
The prosecution further referred to a 2020 FIR in which investigations revealed Hayer’s alleged involvement in transactions relating to properties acquired from laundered funds.
The matter will now be taken up by the High Court on September 19 for further hearing.
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