Delhi Court Sends Man Arrested in PFI-linked Money Laundering Case to 10-day ED Custody

A Delhi court has referred a man, who was arrested in connection with a money laundering investigation against the outlawed People’s Front of India, to emergency department detention for 10 days, citing that he was not cooperative during the investigation.

Additional Sessions Judge Shailender Malik Sohool Hameed has been sent to the custody of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) until 18 June. Hamid was arrested on 7 June 2023 in Madurai and brought to Delhi.

The judge issued the order on the emergency department application, which requested that Hamid be questioned while he was in detention for 14 days.

“After listening to the notes, keeping in mind the entirety of the facts and the fact that since the accused has been uncooperative in the investigation so far to enable the Director of Public Affairs to collect all relevant evidence, the accused, Suhool Hameed, is being held in police custody for 10 days,” the judge said in an order issued. On 8 June.

Special Prosecutor N.K. Mata, who appeared before the emergency department with counsel Faizan Khan, told the court that the accused was in the process of collecting illegal funds/terrorist funds from legal and illegal channels from Singapore and elsewhere.

The Central Anti-Money Laundering Investigation Agency said Hamid had been deported to India.

Upon receipt of the entries, the accused was intercepted and could not provide an account of certain activities he had undertaken toward collecting money for PFI, the agency told the court.

The Federal Agency said that the accused’s statements were also recorded, as he evaded answering questions related to some of the material aspects collected during the investigation that led to his arrest.

EM has registered a case based on an FIR provided by the National Intelligence Agency regarding alleged terrorism-related activities punishable under the strict Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).

The Emergency Department alleged that the accused persons associated with the organization indulged in collecting money by donation, hawala, banking channels etc., which was being used for illegal activities and committing various crimes.

It claimed that cash donations and fake bank transfers were found during the investigation, and that money was even transferred from abroad to India through a secret channel as part of a plot hatched over the years by the PFI office holders.

(This story was not edited by the News18 staff and was published from a syndicated news agency feed – PTI)