Islamic preacher is suspected to have Malaysian permanent residence visa

Mumbai: Controversial Islamic preacher Dr Zakir Naik, who has not responded to several Enforcement Directorate (ED) summons, is suspected to have a permanent resident (PR) visa for Malaysia and shutting to a few countries. Agencies including the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and Enforcement Directorate (ED) are however in the process of verifying the same.

Naik has been shifting locations from Malaysia to Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates in order to avoid getting into legal tangles that would lead to his deportation to India. When Arif Mallik, Naik’s representative, was asked about the PR status, he said, “I have no idea.”

ED, as part of its investigation into Dr Naik's benami properties, is gathering evidence to attach half a dozen properties, including a land parcel (on the outskirts of Mumbai) and apartments that were bought in Mumbai and Pune.

A senior ED officer on condition of anonymity said, “We summoned some of the people in whose name the properties were found to be registered. We sought documents of the properties to help us probe the money trail. Despite sending them multiple summons, they are yet to respond.”

Following NIA’s filing of the chargesheet against Dr Naik on Thursday, October 26, 2017, ED officials said that they would also refer to the findings of the agency that have been put up before the judiciary.

The senior ED officer said, “We are yet to get a copy of the chargesheet. We would go through it as that could help us in our ongoing probe and also provide us fresh aspects.”