The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday, 26 July, filed a supplementary charge sheet against former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah in relation to a money laundering case.
"ED has filed a Supplementary P.C. under PMLA, 2002 before the Spl. PMLA Court, Srinagar against Dr. Farooq Abdullah & Others on 4/6/2022," the ED tweeted.
"Court has taken cognizance of the complaint and issued notices to the accused persons for appearance before the Court on 27.08.2022," the probe agency added.
Abdullah had appeared before the agency on 31 May, in a money laundering case against the office-bearers of the Union Territory's cricket association.
The former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister had also recorded his statement in the same matter in 2019. In October 2020, Abdullah was summoned twice by the ED in this case.
Meanwhile, political outfits in the valley have said that summons by central agencies are "common to all opposition" leaders in the country.
The ED had earlier seized property worth Rs 7.25 crore belonging to Abdullah's associate Ahsan Ahmad Mirza. Subsequently in December, 2020, the probe agency attached Abdullah’s properties worth Rs 11.86 crore in the case.
The Case Against Abdullah
The case relates to the siphoning of funds belonging to the Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association (JKCA), which were transferred to different personal bank accounts, some of which belonged to office bearers of the JKCA.
In 2003, Mirza was appointed as treasurer of the JKCA by Abdullah by allegedly flouting rules. Mirza was not elected to the post but Abdullah appointed him as treasurer through a resolution signed by him.
Abdullah has been accused of laundering money through Mirza. The ED had detected some suspicious transactions showing funds of JKCA were illegally transferred into the account of Mirza.
The ED learnt in the investigation that Mirza with the help of other officers bearers misappropriated Rs 51.90 crore from JKCA's fund. He spent this into repaying his business associates and spending on personal things.
The agency initiated Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) probe in the matter on the basis of the Central Bureau of Investigation's FIR and charge sheet filed in 2019.
Ghazanfar was elected treasurer in 2007 and he detected the alleged fraud. He told Abdullah about the illegal transaction but the latter allegedly kept mum on the matter.
Earlier, the ED had attached properties of Abdullah, Mirza, and his aide Manzoor Ghazanfar.
"Assets worth Rs 14.32 crore had already been attached by the ED in the case which includes properties worth Rs 11.86 crore of Abdullah," an ED official said.
The ED also learnt that at the instruction of Abdullah, Ghazanfar signed a few cheques, which were deposited into the accounts belonging to Mirza.
The ED has learnt that Mirza opened several accounts in J&K Bank on the basis of fake documents as per alleged instructions of Abdullah and laundered funds. Mirza was made the cheque signatory of the JKCA by Abdullah.
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