A special PMLA court in Mumbai has remanded Maharashtra cabinet minister and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Nawab Malik to judicial custody till 21st March 2022 in the money laundering case linked to Dawood Ibrahim, registered against him by the Enforcement Directorate (ED). The order was passed by special judge RN Rokde on Monday 7th March 2022.
ED had arrested Nawab Malik on 23rd February 2022 because he had allegedly purchased a property at a rate lower than the market value from Dawood Ibrahim and his aides. While remanding Nawab Malik to ED custody, judge RN Rokde has reasoned that sufficient time would be required to investigate proceeds of crime that traversed over the last 20 years. The judge had also observed that the allegations against Malik were prima facie well-founded.
#WATCH | Maharashtra Minister & NCP leader Nawab Malik arrived at Arthur Road Jail. He was sent to judicial custody till 21 March by Special PMLA court in connection with Dawood Ibrahim money laundering case
— ANI (@ANI) March 7, 2022
He was arrested by ED on Feb 23rd. pic.twitter.com/9nKUNaJzcB
Malik has separately moved a Habeas Corpus petition before the Bombay High Court alleging that his arrest was illegal. The Enforcement Directorate has opposed Maharashtra Cabinet Minister Nawab Malik’s habeas corpus petition on the grounds of maintainability and asserted that his arrest was legal.
Defending the allegations by Malik of being forcibly picked up and served a summons in the ED office, ED claimed that Malik was arrested at 2.45 PM on February 23, before which he was served a summons and his statement was recorded after he “voluntarily” visited the ED office accompanied by his son.
Nawab Malik has been sent to Arthur Road jail. He will remain in the custody there till 21st March 2022. In February 2022, ED had conducted raids in South Mumbai in connection with a money laundering case against underworld don Dawood Ibrahim and his aides. Close to nine places in Mumbai and one in Thane were raided by the ED including the residences of Dawood Ibrahim’s late sister Haseena Parkar and brother Iqbal Kaskar. The agency also took into custody Iqbal Kaskar who is imprisoned in Thane in an extortion case and presented him before the special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court.
Nawab Malik’s name appeared in the process of investigation after the intelligence inputs directed the agency to look into the hawala transaction while probing a money laundering case against Ibrahim, Iqbal Mirchi, Chhota Shakeel, Parkar, and Javed Chikna. The agency traced several hawala transactions linked to money illegally obtained through extortion, drug trafficking, sale of real estate in Nagpada and Bhendi Bazaar area of Mumbai, and other unlawful activities.
