Two Zakir Naik aides' hold up ED probe
The ED suspects that their were bought using the Rs 200 crore sent by Naik between 2013 and 2016 to his point man Amir Gazdar.
Mumbai: Two alleged associates of controversial Islamic preacher Zakir Naik are holding up the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) investigation into his benami properties found by the ED in August, by evading the agency’s summons for questioning.
The duo is not related to Naik as in earlier instances when the ED had found benami properties registered in the name of Naik’s brother, sister and distant relatives, ED sources said. The owners are fronts put up by the televangelist and the properties are registered in their name though they belong to Naik.
Sources in the ED said that the duo, names withheld, will receive a second summons soon as they failed to honour the first one. The second summons will seek their presence along with all property documents.
“We had summoned the duo along with the property documents last month. These properties are spread in Mumbai and elsewhere. Their questioning would help us ascertain the source of funds that were used to buy these assets and to get the money trail,” said an ED officer.
The half a dozen properties also include a land parcel (on the outskirts of Mumbai) and apartments, which were bought in Mumbai and Pune. These properties are different from the ones that have been identified by the National Investigation Agency which is probing Naik under the provisions of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), with a probe underway on terror angles.
Sources said the properties are located in plush areas but their market value is yet to be ascertained. The ED has already attached properties to the tune of Rs 18.3 crore owned by Naik and his non-profit Islamic Research Foundation (IRF) in March in connection with the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) case against Naik.
The ED suspects that their were bought using the Rs 200 crore sent by Naik between 2013 and 2016 to his point man Amir Gazdar.