The ED had extensively questioned Qureshi earlier this year on laundering of money through companies based in Dubai and Pakistan and had gathered substantial information following raids on his uber posh house in Delhi's tony Chhatarpur locality.
The law is finally catching up with notorious hawala trader Moin Qureshi.
Accused of laundering over $100 million across the world through various channels – most notably his Pakistani wife Nasreen's blood relatives and business associates – Qureshi has been booked by the Enforcement Directorate under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
The ED had extensively questioned Qureshi earlier this year on laundering of money through companies based in Dubai and Pakistan and had gathered substantial information following raids on his uber posh house in Delhi's tony Chhatarpur locality.
The road to slapping of PMLA charges against Qureshi has not been easy. He has been as slippery as an eel and had been reluctant to partake in ED's probe. Qureshi had in fact slipped away citing an emergency while he was questioned by the ED earlier this year.
ED officials are yet to confirm whether they will slap similar charges against his wife Nasreen and daughters Pernia and Sylvia Qureshi, all of whom are alleged to have been used by Qureshi to illegally transfer the dirty money of influential people to safe havens abroad. The ED is tightlipped about whether they will be questioning French architect Jean Louise Denoit, who is also suspected to have been a conduit for Qureshi's hawala transactions.
dna had reported in the past about Qureshi's links to former CBI director Ranjit Sinha and former Interpol chief Ronald Noble. dna had accessed Blackberry messenger transcripts of Qureshi and his associates that figured Sinha and Noble in the conversations and several dealings discussed by the hawala trader in those messages.
If the ED is able to establish charges against Qureshi, he could face a maximum of 10 years in prison. However, given Qureshi's influential links with the who's who of Indian politics and business, the ED faces a gargantuan task. A lot of big fish have been linked to Qureshi – including prominent politicians of the ruling dispensation.
In April this year, Income tax department had handed over dossier to ED, giving details of his foreign accounts and his several hawala routes to amass wealth disproportionate to his income. The Income Tax authorities had raided Moin Qureshi February last year and had seized more than Rs 20 crore cash and huge quantity of jewellery from his seven vaults.
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
 "Qureshi")
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}