On Monday (2nd September), the Enforcement Directorate arrested Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA and Delhi Waqf Board Chairman Amanatullah Khan in connection with a money laundering case. The ED officials took him into custody under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) hours after they searched his residence in Delhi’s Okhla area at around 6:30 am earlier today.
The AAP leader is facing the heat in connection with the Delhi Waqf Board scam as well as evading ED summons multiple times, resulting in his arrest for non-compliance.
It is pertinent to note that Amanatullah’s arrest comes weeks after the Delhi High Court refused to stay the trial court proceedings against him for skipping multiple ED summons issued to him in the Delhi Waqf Board case. The development came after he evaded at least ten ED summons. He was last questioned by the agency in this case in April this year.
In March, the Delhi High Court had refused to grant him anticipatory bail, citing his repeated evasion of ED’s summons. A month later, the Supreme Court also denied him anticipatory bail after criticising his repeated absences from ED summonses.
Strikingly, the AAP leader is facing the heat in a money laundering case related to the financial irregularities in the functioning of the Delhi Waqf Board as he has served as the Chairman of the Delhi Waqf Board multiple times and is also its current chairman. The Delhi Police’s Anti-Corruption Branch, CBI, and ED all have been investigating this case.
Details of the Delhi Waqf Board scam and major developments in the case
Amanatullah Khan’s legal trouble stems from two FIRs. An FIR was filed by the Delhi Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) and in September last year, the ACB officials arrested him for alleged financial mismanagement and other irregularities within the Delhi Waqf Board.
According to the ACB, the initial FIR in this case was filed in January 2020. It was filed under Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, along with Section 120B of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). They later invoked Section 13 of the Prevention of Corruption Act and Section 409 of the IPC.
During the investigation, a witness revealed several issues related to the tenancy of Waqf properties. The witness said that in 2021, he submitted a bid of Rs 30,000 for a Waqf Board shop at Fatehpuri Masjid. His bid was the highest but he was still asked to pay Rs 10 lakh. He was then instructed to withdraw his bid when he refused to pay Rs 10 lakh for the shop. According to the Investigative Officer in court, Amanatullah Khan subsequently accepted a lower bid of Rs 19,000 from another bidder which led to financial loss for the Delhi Waqf Board.
Additionally, the ACB also recorded a statement from a female employee of the Delhi Waqf Board. She said that files related to the Waqf Assets Management System of India (WAMSI) project were removed following the directions of Amanatullah Khan. She added that Khan wanted to avoid transparency regarding Waqf Board properties to conceal his alleged illegal activities.
Notably, the WAMSI project had an aim to computerise Waqf Board properties. After a two-year investigation, the ACB summoned Khan on 16th September last year. The agency officials also raided four locations linked to the AAP leader and uncovered incriminating evidence. He was then placed in four-day police custody, which was then extended as the ACB needed more time for interrogation due to Khan’s health issues.
ED filed another FIR based on the CBI FIR against the AAP leader
In its FIR, the CBI alleged irregularities in the Waqf Board. According to the CBI, Amanatullah Khan appointed various persons to the Delhi Waqf Board against non-sanctioned and non-existent vacancies, which caused financial loss to the Delhi government and illegal gains to himself.
In October 2023, the ED also conducted searches at several locations linked with the AAP leader. Later, in January, the ED again carried out searches at nine locations connected to Khan in connection with this money laundering case in the Delhi Waqf board scam case.
In February, the Delhi High Court rejected his plea seeking immediate relief from ED summons in a Rs 36 crore property case which was unearthed through the diaries of his close aide, Hamid Ali Khan.
These diaries exposed significant transactions between the AAP leader and Javed Imam Siddiqui, including the purchase of a Rs 36 crore plot in Tikona Park, Okhla.
The Delhi Police’s ACB had already arrested Hamid Ali Khan in September 2022. Following that, Amanatullah Khan withdrew his plea challenging the ED summons.
However, in April this year, the Supreme Court also rejected his anticipatory bail pleas and the ED also filed an FIR against him. This ED FIR was based on the CBI’s FIR lodged against the AAP leader. On 4th April, the ED filed a complaint against Amanatullah Khan under CrPC sections 190, read with IPC section 174 and PMLA section 63(4) for not complying with the summons issued to him.
Meanwhile, the ED arrested Khan for the first time in April but later the Delhi Rouse Avenue Court granted him bail on a personal bond of Rs 15,000 and one surety of the same amount.
The ED case is based on allegations that Khan illegally recruited staff and unfairly leased Waqf Board properties between 2018 and 2022, resulting in financial gains through illegitimate means. Allegations have been made that unlawful leasing of Waqf Properties worth Rs 100 crore was carried out. Additionally, under Amanatullah Khan’s administration, the Delhi Waqf Board appointed 32 contractual workers in breach of the guidelines.
Previously, the ED officials quizzed Amanatullah Khan for over 12 hours in this case. According to the agency, he acquired “huge proceeds of crime” in cash through these illegal activities and invested these proceeds in purchasing immovable assets in the name of his associates. Chargesheets have already been submitted in the case against one company and four individuals.
In its chargesheet, the ED said that Khan laundered his illegal gains by purchasing immovable properties through his associates – Jawed Imam Siddiqui, Daud Nasir, Zeeshan Haider, and Kausar Imam Siddiqui.
