Amanatullah Khan, Okhla MLA of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), was taken into custody by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on 2nd September in relation to a money laundering investigation. The investigation team looking into the Waqf Board corruption case questioned the AAP leader for six hours after raiding his residence before placing him under arrest. Prior to the action, Amanatullah Khan shared that officials from the ED had arrived at his residence in Okhla with the intention of arresting him, in a post on X (formerly Twitter).
#WATCH | Delhi: AAP MLA Amanatullah Khan detained by ED officials.
— ANI (@ANI) September 2, 2024
ED had arrived at his residence to conduct a raid, earlier today. pic.twitter.com/lUCufRTGFh
“It is seven in the morning, and the ED has come to arrest me in the name of a search warrant. My mother-in-law has cancer, and she is currently at my home. I have written to them, and I have also replied to each of their notices,” Amanatullah claimed in a video.
अभी सुबह-सुबह तानाशाह के इशारे पर उनकी कटपुतली ED मेरे घर पर पहुँच चुकी है, मुझे और AAP नेताओं को परेशान करने में तानाशाह कोई कसर नहीं छोड़ रहा।
— Amanatullah Khan AAP (@KhanAmanatullah) September 2, 2024
ईमानदारी से अवाम की ख़िदमत करना गुनाह है?
आख़िर ये तानाशाही कब तक?#EDRaid #Okhla pic.twitter.com/iR2YN7Z9NL
Amanatullah Khan was on bail in the case with the Enforcement Directorate charging that he disregarded the summons by the agency. In April this year, Amanatullah Khan was interrogated by the central agency for fourteen hours. The ED had filed a complaint against him in April after he failed to appear before the agency and participate in the case’s investigation.
Amanatullah Khan was the subject of a complaint earlier this year from the ED under section 174 of the Indian Penal Code, read with section 63 (4) of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). He was charged for not turning up before the agency and taking part in the probe into irregularities in appointments at the Delhi Waqf Board and leasing of its properties in violation of Section 50, of the PMLA. The agency mentioned that by entering into an anticipatory bail plea and dodging the inquiry, Amanatullah Khan switched from being a witness to an accused. Furthermore, according to the ED’s attorney, the inquiry could not be completed as Amanatullah refused to appear in person before the agency.
The AAP MLA was granted bail by the Rouse Avenue Court in April about a recent Enforcement Directorate charge against him for failing to appear at the summons in the Delhi Waqf Board money laundering case. The charges against him date back to 2016, when the Central Bureau Of Investigation (CBI) filed its case.
According to the complaints, the AAP leader allegedly obtained a substantial sum of money through unauthorised hirings at the Delhi Waqf Board and utilised it to purchase real estate in the names of his accomplices. Chargesheets have already been submitted in the case against one company and four individuals. 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.
