On 5th April, The Enforcement Directorate (ED) approached Rouse Avenue Court against Amanatullah Khan, an MLA from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), for failing to appear as required by the central agency in a money laundering case related to irregularities in hiring employees and leasing property for the Delhi Waqf Board. He was summoned to be questioned on the 23rd and 31st of January, the 9th, 19th and 26th of February and the 4th of March, but he has not complied, according to the agency.
ED invoked sections 190 and 200 of the Criminal Procedure Code for filing a complaint in the court of additional chief metropolitan magistrate Divya Malhotra against the AAP leader for failure to cooperate with the summons under Section 50 (power to issue summons) of the Prevention of Money Laundering (PMLA) Act and refusal to participate in the inquiry. Divya Malhotra, the Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (ACMM), scheduled a hearing for 6th April.
The court had earlier denied Amanatullah Khan‘s request for anticipatory release in this matter. He is accused of obtaining “huge proceeds of crime” in cash through the unauthorized hiring of employees, per the agency’s case. He then invested the money to buy real estate under the identities of his associates.
Three of his suspected colleagues were among the five accused against whom the ED had issued a chargesheet in November 2023. The chargesheet did not include Amanatullah Khan as an accused party. According to the agency, properties were bought on his instruction. The chargesheet asserted, “It is further revealed that out of Rs 36 crore, Rs 8 crore mentioned to be transacted directly by Khan in cash.”
The Delhi government suffered financial losses and the lawmaker made illicit gains when he illegally appointed people to the Delhi Waqf Board against non-approved and non-existent vacancies, based on a 2016 Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) case that prompted the ED to launch its investigation. It was also stated that he had illegally leased away Waqf Board properties.
The ED then filed charges against him for money laundering. The federal agency maintained that the AAP MLA used his connections to buy real estate in order to launder his illicit wealth. He previously sought anticipatory relief from a Delhi court, however, the motion was denied on 1st March. Later, on 11th March, the Delhi High Court denied his application for anticipatory bail.
The issue is related to a property in Okhla valued at Rs 36 crore that was purchased using illegal monies at the behest of the AAP MLA who handed over Rs 8 crore in cash. The ED took into consideration prior First Information Reports that had been filed by the Delhi Police, CBI and Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) during the inquiry. The agency provided proof of a monetary transaction of Rs 27 crore and declared that the property was purchased at the politican’s request.
Zeeshan Haider, his partnership company Skypower, Javed Imam Siddiqui, Dawood Nasir and Qausar Imam Siddiqui were all included in the chargesheet that the ED had launched in the case. The charge included Amanatullah Khan’s improper appointment to the Delhi Waqf Board chairmanship.
