Hassan Ali case: ED summons two ex-employees of UBS Switzerland

MUMBAI: Enforcement Directorate has issued summons to two former employees of UBS Switzerland to appear before a special court here in connection with its multi-crore money laundering probe against Pune stud-farm owner Hassan Ali Khan.

The summons, issued on the directions of a local court, have been issued against former executive Director of United Bank of Switzerland (UBS) Prabhu Guptara and another former employee Peter Willie under section 59 (1) of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and the duo have been asked to be present in the court anytime between April 9-13.

The section, under the stringent anti-money laundering law, is used for "reciprocal arrangements for processes and assistance for transfer of accused persons."

In the same case, the agency has also recently sent a Letters Rogatory (LR) to the European nation of Luxembourg, urging it to obtain additional information about transfer of funds by Khan and his associate Kashinath Tapuriah worth 18 million USD from the Royal Bank of Luxembourg.

The ED, according to sources, is probing Guptara's role for allegedly helping Khan establish contact with international arms dealer Adnan Khashoggi.

According to the agency, Khan and Tapuriah had allegedly sent a notarised document through another associate Philip Anandraj to Guptara in Switzerland which he passed on to the UBS.

The document allegedly contained information about financial transactions and linkages with Khashoggi.

The ED, along with the Income Tax department, is probing allegations of huge financial irregularities against Khan, his wife Rheema, Tapuriah and his wife Chandrika Tapuriah.