The Enforcement Directorate, along with the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and different state police forces, has been conducting a nationwide crackdown on the Islamist organisation Popular Front of India (PFI). The agency revealed on Friday how members of the extremist Islamic organisation had been getting hidden funding from abroad.
The investigative agency said that certain members of PFI based abroad were sending funds to their NRI accounts in India and then transferring them to the leaders of the radical Islamic organisation in order to evade the foreign funding regulation law.
As central agencies attempt to probe all of PFI’s clandestine activities, CNN News 18 has delved into the notorious organization’s global footprint. According to the report, a top intelligence source revealed how PFI has tentacles in various countries ranging from the UAE, Oman, and Qatar to Turkey, Pakistan, and Bangladesh.
According to intelligence sources, the PFI has three front organisations in the Gulf countries: India Fraternity Forum (IFF), Indian Social Forum (ISF), and Rehab Indian Foundation (RIF). These organisations serve to conceal the PFI’s direct engagement in anti-India operations abroad.
In the Middle East, IFF and ISF are well-organized and gather finances for anti-India operations. According to reports, the IFF has emerged as the premier conduit for raising cash for the PFI in the Middle East.
PFI presence in the UAE
Leaders of Kerala’s Jamat-E-Islami (JEI), PFI, and its affiliates, the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI), and the National Development Front (NDF), travel frequently to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), particularly Abu Dhabi and Dubai.
According to the News 18 report, they frequent these Islamic locations because of their ideology and jihadi proclivities. The Emirates India Fraternity Forum (EIFF) and the Indian Cultural Society (ICS) Karnataka Chapter are fronts of the PFI in Dubai.
The PFI is allegedly involved in money laundering to India via hawala routes. They also work in real estate. According to sources, Saifu, a resident of Kerala’s Chavakadu district, oversees the real estate industry in Abu Dhabi.
Another business that the PFI engages in is ‘Rent A Car,’ for which they organise large investments over a four-year period.
Saudi Arabia and PFI connection
The PFI’s fronts in Saudi Arabia are the ISF and IFF. They approach Indians during the Haj period under the guise of assisting them. The organisations allegedly raise large sums of money, the majority of which is delivered to India via hawala route and gold smuggling, which is, in turn, used to support the organization’s “radical activities”.
PFI here also sends funds through e-wallets in the name of legal aid and community support.
Oman
The PFI, together with the ISF and IFF, operates in Oman under the aegis of the Social Forum (SF). The Kerala wing of the PFI, National Development Front (NDF), is also active in Oman, spreading the radical ideology. It has also allegedly sent Rs 44 Lakhs to the PFI through hawala routes.
Through the SF, ISF, WFS, and WSKA, they carry out radicalization operations. Ashfakh Chaikinakath Puayil, a major NDF and PFI leader, is reportedly in charge of fund collection. Money is also donated directly to the Rehab India Foundation, a cover organisation for PFI.
PFI in Turkey
According to the report, with the assistance of Indian students, the radical Islamic outfit PFI has built a base in Turkey. They have sent one student, Noushad, to Turkey to pursue a PhD at Sabahattin Zaib University, and he is in charge of raising funds for the organisation.
PFI presence in Kuwait
The Kuwait Indian Social Forum (KISF), a PFI shell organisation, operates in Kuwait and is supported by annual subscriptions. The organisation claims that all of these funds are primarily intended to ‘aid’ the Muslim cause. The group primarily targets wealthy Kuwaiti employers and businessmen, who are subsequently radicalised through handpicked videos of violence and videos like that of the demolition of the Babri Masjid.
PFI and its roots in Qatar
The Cultural Forum (CF), a PFI arm, is widely popular in Qatar’s Malayali community. They support the Islamic State’s (IS) cause in Syria, and one of its supporters, Muhammad Fahimi, is involved in selling used vehicles to ISIS networks in Syria.
The ISF, IFF, and CF collect funds from Malayalam expatriates in Qatar for the PFI and SDPI, which are then sent to India via hawala routes.
#BREAKING #PFICrackdown | PFI protests intensify amidst #Kerala bandh; 40 PFI workers arrested @mihirz shares more details #PFIRaids | @maryashakil pic.twitter.com/lFRhZMetKf
— News18 (@CNNnews18) September 23, 2022
According to News 18, the PFI has operations in Bahrain, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, the Maldives, Bangladesh, and Mauritius, in addition to the aforementioned countries.
In fact, the report suggests that after the Hathras gang-rape incident, PFI’s cover organisations in Mauritius wired about 500 million to PFI in India to create communal disharmony in Uttar Pradesh (UP).
NIA raids PFI offices and houses across 10 states, 106 members, including top leaders arrested
Notably, the revelations came after the federal agencies led by NIA had on Thursday conducted raids across 10 states, including Assam, Bihar, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, and Telangana, and arrested 106 PFI activists for allegedly supporting terror activities in the country.
The agency arrested 106 cadres, including top leaders of the organization. The maximum number of arrests was made in Kerala (22) followed by Maharashtra and Karnataka (20 each), Tamil Nadu (10), Assam (9), Uttar Pradesh (8), Andhra Pradesh (5), Madhya Pradesh (4), Puducherry and Delhi (3 each) and Rajasthan (2).
As per reports, the raids were conducted by joint teams of NIA, Enforcement Directorate (ED), and respective State Police, and the Union Ministry of Home Affairs was monitoring the action against the organization.
These searches were conducted at the homes and offices of top PFI leaders and members in connection with five cases registered by the NIA in response to ongoing inputs and evidence that the PFI leaders and cadres were involved in funding terrorism and terrorist activities, organising training camps for armed training, and radicalising people to join banned organisations.
Members were involved in terror fundraising, encouraging Muslims to join ISIS: NIA
Following the raids, National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Friday also revealed that PFI’s office bearers, members, and cadres, along with others, were involved in radicalising and recruiting Muslim youth to join proscribed terror organisations like ISIS. The disclosure came while seeking remand for the 106 members and cadres of the Popular Front of India (PFI) arrested in the country’s first-ever massive operation against the extremist Islamic organisation.
