JKCA scam: ED arrests Farooq Abdullah's close aide

JKCA scam: ED arrests Farooq Abdullah's close aide

Enforcement Directorate

New Delhi, Sep 4 (IANS) The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has arrested former treasurer of the Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association Ahsan Ahmed Mirza, a close associate of former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah, officials said on Wednesday.

A senior ED officer told IANS: "In case of Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association, upon allegations of misappropriation of funds in the association to the tune of Rs 43.69 crore of and corresponding wrongful gain to accused Ahsan Ahmad Mirza and others, a case was registered."

He said the investigations conducted so far, under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), have disclosed clear-cut details of the bank accounts used for misappropriation of JKCA funds, with involvement of Mirza with no satisfactory explanation.

"Based upon the probe details Mirza has been arrested under the charges of money laundering," the officer said.

The ED has registered a case of money laundering on the basis of the CBI FIR for misappropriation of funds.

The CBI last year filed a chargesheet against Abdullah, who was also the then President of the JKCA, Mirza, Mohammad Saleem Khan - the then general secretary, and Bashir Ahmad Misgar, an executive in the J&K Bank.

The BCCI had given Rs 112 crore to the JKCA between 2002 and 2011 for the development of cricket facilities in the state. Of this, Rs 43.69 crore was siphoned off and misappropriated by the accused.

--IANS

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