HASSAN ALI CASE: I-T DEPT SEEKS TWO WEEKS' TIME

His one Swiss Bank account alone had an amount twice that of the Brihanmubai Municipal Corporation budget of $ 4 billion (Rs 16,700 crore).But Pune stud farm owner Hassan Ali Khan, now facing an Enforcement Directorate (ED) probe for his ''possible links to terror-financing'' and for the billions of tainted dollars being allegedly routed through hawala, will have to wait for the court hearing of his plea for the return of his passport.Income-Tax department lawyer Beni Chatterjee sought two weeks from the Bombay High Court to file its response to Khan's petition.Khan, who has been under the IT and ED scanner for over a year now, is yet to be arrested despite the agency going on record before the high court that it has ''clinching evidence'' against him.The ED is also linking Khan's source of funds to arms dealer Adnan Khashogi and others. The ED said ''prima-facie indications suggested a strong international crime syndicate, with money flowing in from proceeds of crimes like terrorism, arms trade, corruption and organised forgery''.Khan has three passports in different names and has applied for two more, the ED said, even though his lawyer, Majeed Memon, denied the charge – www.timesofIndia.com