Mumbai: The Enforcement Directorate (ED), which is probing a money-laundering case against late gangster Iqbal Mirchi and others, has provisionally attached properties of his kin worth Rs 22.42 crore.
The anti-money laundering agency has attached immovable properties and balances in seven bank accounts totalling to Rs 22.42 crore under section 5 of Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA).
"These attached assets include one talkies, one hotel in Mumbai, one under-construction hotel, one farmhouse, two bungalows and 3.5 acre land in Panchgani," agency officials said.
According to ED, New Roshan Talkies is the theatre attached in the case. A chargesheet or prosecution complaint has been filed in the case in December last year before the Special PMLA court and cognizance of the same has been taken by the Court. Open-ended non-bailable warrants have been issued against Asif Memon, Junaid Memon (both sons of Iqbal Mirchi) and Hajra Memon (wife of Iqbal Memon) for their role in the offence of money laundering.
Earlier, ED attached assets totalling to the tune of Rs 776 crore including overseas assets of Rs 203 crore. Now including the latest attachment, the total attachment in this case is Rs 798 Crore
Last month, 15 properties belonging to family members of Mirchi were attached. These properties include one hotel namely Midwest Hotel Apartment and 14 other commercial and residential properties having a total value of AED 101.52 million, equivalent to Rs 203.27 crore.
ED registered a money laundering case against Mirchi and others on September 26 last year under the provisions of PMLA. In this case, five accused including Humayun Merchant, Dewan Housing Finance Corporation (DHFL) promoters Kapil Wadhawan and Dheeraj Wadhawan were arrested.
The DHFL allegedly extended loans to Sunblink Real Estate Pvt Ltd, which purportedly routed money to Mirchi, who died in the UK in August 2013. The DHFL came under the ED’s scanner when the agency was examining three properties linked to Mirchi, an aide of fugitive gangster Dawood Ibrahim, in Worli.
The ED’s investigation has shown that in 1986, Mirchi bought three properties from the Mohammad Yusuf Trust, an organisation that Mirchi allegedly used as a front to negotiate with several developers. In 2010, when Mirchi was based in Dubai, Sunblink Real Estate Pvt Ltd bought three properties from him and later developed them.
According to the ED, Mirchi signed agreements in 2010, in which he received 90 million dirhams for development rights of these properties. All these are proceeds of crime, said the ED.
