Assets worth Rs 18.37 crores attached.
In a major crackdown against the controversial televangelist Zakir Naik's Islamic Research Foundation (IRF) and eight companies with links to Naik, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Monday provisionally attached assets worth Rs 18.37 crores allegedly belonging to IRF and the eight firms in a money laundering case being investigated by the agency against Zakir Naik and others.
According to ED officials, the attachment includes mutuals fund of IRF worth around Rs 9 crores, property on which a school was run by IRF, and a godown of Harmony Media Private Limited, as well as five bank accounts of IRF and other firms, having a cumUlative balance of Rs 1.5 crores, have been attached provisionally. "We have provisionally attached the property in Naik's case and we will soon seize it. Out of 18 crores, most of the property belongs to the IRF and Harmony Media of Zakir Naik that includes mutual fund, real estate, and few bank accounts. The probe has revealed that most of the money was laundered through these accounts," said an ED officer privy to the investigation.
The officer added that the ED is in the process of taking strict action against Naik for not appearing before the agency despite have been issued three summons. ED will begin the legal process to issue a non-bailable warrant(NBW) against Naik under PMLA, he added. The enforcement agency had registered a case against IRF and others under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) for alleged money laundering. The agency had arrested Naik’s close confidante Aamir Gazdar, a south Mumbai-based marble trader, who is currently in the judicial custody. The central agency has accused him of allegedly acquiring and disposing of a large amount of cash on behalf of Naik.
Meanwhile, the National Investigation Agency has issued a second summons to Naik, after he skipped an initial summons issued by NIA asking him to appear before the NIA's office in Delhi. The summons issued to Naik, that has been stuck outside his residence in Mazgaon, directs Naik to join the investigation at the NIA headquarters in Delhi before March 30.
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