Mumbai, April 29: A Special Court designated under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) permitted the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to attach additional properties linked to late underworld figure Iqbal Mirchi and his family under the Fugitive Economic Offenders (FEO) Act, 2018.
In an order passed on Wednesday, the court permitted the ED to attach properties detailed in Exhibit ‘C’ under Section 5(1) of the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act (FEOA), 2018, and also allowed the filing of a supplementary application under Section 13 for inclusion of further assets identified during ongoing investigation.
ED cites fresh findings
The application was moved by the ED, Mumbai Zonal Office-I, which stated that the properties were identified during further investigation and were already part of ongoing attachment proceedings under the PMLA.
The properties include three prime land parcels in Mumbai’s Worli area, Rabia Mansion, Marium Lodge and Sea View, spread across about 4,970.41 square metres, along with overseas assets in Dubai, including Hotel Midwest Apartment and 14 real estate units in Corporate Bay and DEC Towers.
Assets linked to proceeds of crime
According to the ED, these assets were allegedly acquired using proceeds of crime generated by Iqbal Mirchi, also known as Iqbal Memon, and were held through proxies, including Sir Mohammad Yusuf Trust and the family members Asif Iqbal Memon, Junaid Iqbal Memon and Hajra Iqbal Memon.
The agency informed the court that the accused had already been declared Fugitive Economic Offenders by the same court in February 2021, with directions for seizure of their properties in India and abroad.
ED said investigations revealed that Iqbal Mirchi had purchased the Worli properties in 1986 through his firm M/s Rockside Enterprises for Rs 6.5 lakh and later allegedly used trusts and dummy tenants to conceal beneficial ownership and protect the assets from attachment by authorities.
Court permits attachment
It further alleged that over Rs 154 crore was routed overseas by the Wadhawans for acquisition of the Worli properties, and that additional Dubai assets were also transferred as part of related financial settlements.
The court noted that the properties had already been provisionally attached under the PMLA through orders passed in 2019 and 2020, which were subsequently confirmed by the Adjudicating Authority. It observed that there was “strong reason to believe” that the assets constituted proceeds of crime or benami properties owned by persons already declared as fugitive economic offenders.
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Allowing the application, the court held that the ED was permitted to attach the properties under Section 5(1) of the FEO Act, subject to compliance with due process of law.
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