ED moves PMLA court seeking non-bailable arrest warrant against Zakir Naik

In a fresh development, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) moved special PMLA court in Mumbai seeking a non-bailable warrant (NBW) against controversial Islamic preacher Zakir Naik. The court would hear the argument and may pass an order on Wednesday.

Naik, who is residing in Saudi Arabia did not appear before the agency in response to summons against him on four occasions. Advocate Hiten Venegavkar, representing the ED, said Naik was summoned four times to cooperate in the investigation, but he repeatedly failed to appear. “Hence, it gives a ground to the agency to seek a warrant against him,” Venegavkar said.

Once the ED gets a copy of NBW in hand, it would go ahead seeking a letter rotatory (LRs) for the UK and UAE, from the same court. From these countries, crores of money had flown in the bank accounts of Naik’s NGO IRF and his relatives.

“Naik had been generating proceed of crimes by delivering controversial speeches in the name of Islam,” the officer told India Today. Money trail of Rs 200 crore is under the ED’s investigation.

Properties attached

Some days back, the ED provisionally attached properties of the IRF and others worth Rs 18.37 crore, in the form of mutual funds, bank balances and real estate under the PMLA, 2002. Sources said Naik’s movable and immovable properties of around Rs 100 crore is under attachment process.

Till now, the agency has attached mutual funds worth Rs 9.41 crore (belonging to the IRF), a godown worth Rs 60 lakh (owned by Harmony Media Pvt. Ltd), and a school building worth Rs 7.05 crore belonging to the Islamic Education Trust, Chennai. In addition, five bank accounts of the IRF were also attached.

Earlier, the ED had registered a money laundering case against the IRF under the provisions of the PMLA, 2002, based on an FIR filed by the National Investigation Agency in November 2016.

In its probe, the ED found that Naik and his associates were indulging in unlawful activities, and that through his provocative utterances, the preacher was promoting enmity and hatred between different religious groups in India.

Source : India Today