The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has provisionally attached immovable asset in the form of a flat worth around Rs 55 lakhs located in Thane, held in the name of Mumtaz Ezaz Shaikh, a close associate of Iqbal Kaskar, under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in an extortion case of 2017. The accused Iqbal Kaskar, Mumtaz Sheikh and Israr Ali Jamil Saiyad due to close proximity with underworld gangster Dawood Ibrahim Kaskar had managed to extort one flat in Thane in the name of Mumtaz Ezaz Shaikh from a builder.
The ED had initiated money laundering investigation on the basis of an FIR registered in September 2017 registered against Iqbal Kaskar (brother of underworld gangster Dawood Ibrahim), Mumtaz Sheikh and Israr Ali Jamil Saiyad for extortion under various sections of the Indian Penal Code. After conducting the investigation, a final report in the case was filed in November 2017 by the Kasarvadvali Police station under the provisions of the Maharashtra Control of Organized Crime Act and IPC.
"Investigation by the ED has revealed that complainant SD Mehta, a real estate builder and developer, was running the business of construction with his partner through his firm M/s Darshan enterprises. The accused Iqbal Kaskar, Mumtaz Sheikh and Israr Ali Jamil Saiyad due to close proximity with Dawood Ibrahim Kaskar managed to extort one flat in Thane in the name of Mumtaz Ezaz Shaikh," said an ED official.
He added, "Besides the said flat, four cheques totaling to Rs 10 lakhs as demanded by the accused persons were issued by the builder which has been encashed by the accused by cash withdrawals. These accounts were operated only for withdrawing the cash amount of Rs 10 lakhs and no other transactions were carried out in these accounts. These accounts were operated to hide the end user or real user of the extorted amounts. It is also revealed that the accused persons extorted cash amounts from Suresh Devichand Mehta during that period.
The ED had arrested Iqbal Kaskar on February 18, this year, for his alleged involvement in the offence of PMLA registered by the agency and is presently under the judicial custody. On identification of the Proceeds of Crime in the form of a flat at Thane held in the name of Mumtaz Shaikh, the same has been provisionally attached under PMLA, officials informed on Tuesday.
