‘Hawala kingpin’ Hasan Ali may go to jail

Hasan Ali Khan, the Pune-based businessman and horse breeder owner alleged to be the country's biggest tax evader, may soon face criminal proceedings, income tax department officials have reportedly said.

Khan and two of his associates, Kashinath Tapuriah and Sayed Ahmed Abbas, are under the I-T department's scanner, and advice has been sought from the Attorney General about the case.

The taxman is looking to recover from Khan and his associates as much as Rs71,845 crore in unpaid taxes and penalties.

Khan was summoned on Friday by I-T's assessment wing in Mumbai. The assessment wing of the I-T department had issued a summons to him in connection with unpaid taxes.

Ali has been under the scanner since it emerged that he had parked over Rs36,000 crore in seven undisclosed Swiss accounts.

The income tax department earlier ad imposed a penalty on Hasan Ali which he challenged. But after his appeal was turned down, Ali had no choice but to appear before the tax officials. He spent nearly six hours at the income tax office in Mumbai as officials tried to work out the amount due from him.