The Enforcement Directorate (ED) informed a special court here on Wednesday that there was no doubt about the guilt of former Maharashtra minister Nawab Malik, who had been detained in a money laundering case.
Malik was interacting with Hasina Parkar, the sister of wanted underworld don Dawood Ibrahim. This statement was delivered by Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Anil Singh, representing the ED and arguing against Malik’s bail request.
The 63-year-old head of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), presently held in judicial custody, was detained on February 23 by the ED following the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) as part of an investigation into the actions of Ibrahim and his associates.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has filed an FIR (first information report) under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), an anti-terror statute, against Ibrahim, a designated global terrorist and a primary suspect in the 1993 Mumbai serial bombings, and his associates.
Malik has requested bail for several reasons, including the claim that there is no predicate (or planned) offense that would allow the prosecution of him for money laundering.
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The crime that results in the “proceeds of crime,” which are subsequently laundered, is referred to as a predicate offense under the PMLA.
In response to the allegation, the ASG argued before the special PMLA court that the NIA’sNIA’s case against Ibrahim and his close friends constituted a predicate offense.
According to the anti-money laundering organization, Malik had allegedly hijacked a property at Goawala Compound in the Kurla area, actively working with Parkar and other D-gang (Dawood Ibrahim gang) members.
The ASG also argued that, according to the NIA evidence, Ibrahim is a terrorist and that his sister Parkar took up all of his illegal operations when he fled India.
“Parker took part in the Malik prosecution. Parker’s business was to arbitrate real estate disputes and profit from them. She visited the Goawala Compound to resolve the dispute. According to her son’s story, she was the original owner of the land (which the former minister subsequently purchased), “Said Singh.
Singh made the case to support his assertion that the NCP leader had connections to Ibrahim’sIbrahim’s sister by citing Sardar Khan, an eyewitness in the case, who said in his testimony that Malik met Parkar and gave her money.
“There was no doubt about Malik’sMalik’s innocence since he was interacting with Parkar. He was aware that this was contaminated land. However, they still met with her and discussed how to conceal the situation and sign certain papers as well as property valued in thousands and lakhs ” explained he.
The ASG stated that just because a paper was signed, it does not render the contaminated property untainted, and he prayed for his bail request of Malik to be denied.
