CBI Special Director Rakesh Asthana is under investigation for allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 2 crore to protect businessman Moin Qureshi in a case. The allegations led to a internal feud in the CBI with both Asthana and his superior, Alok Verma, being divested of their duties.
Although the Supreme Court adjourned the matter till 16 November after Central Vigilance Commission delayed submission of their inquiry report on Verma, here’s a look at who Moin Qureshi is and what is the case against him.
In the run-up to 2014 Lok Sabha elections, BJP’s Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi made a serious allegation against Congress president Sonia Gandhi. He claimed Gandhi was “protecting” a certain Moin Qureshi who was under investigation for money laundering.
“Moin Qureshi is being given protection by Sonia Gandhi, and hence he is safe. He has not been probed despite being under the radar,” said Narendra Modi, in an election rally.
Until then, Qureshi had managed to remain relatively unknown.
Qureshi's Name in the Controversial Diary
Few months after Modi’s comment in September 2014, the names of those who met controversial former CBI Director Ranjit Sinha at his residence was revealed from the visitors’ diary, creating a political stir.
Sinha’s visitors list was being probed to investigate his alleged role in helping out those involved in the Coal Allocation scam, or ‘Coalgate’ as the media insisted on calling it. The Supreme Court had earlier observed that the CBI was no better than a “caged parrot” that “peaks in its master's voice”, giving permission to the inquiry panel to investigate his visitor’s diary.
The scam pertained to illegal allocation of coal blocks between 2004 and 2009 during the UPA I regime, and came to light after a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India in 2012.
Among the many controversial names that surfaced was that of Qureshi. The diary revealed that he met the then CBI Director not just once or twice in a span of few months, but 70 times. Qureshi’s wife, Nasreen, who is a Pakistani national, is also said to have visited Sinha’s residence many times.
ED Arrests Qureshi
On 25 August this year, Qureshi was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in connection with a money laundering case against him. If the ED cracks this case, he will reportedly be India’s biggest tax evader.
Even though the ED has not revealed the value of assets attached to the case, a look at Qureshi’s rise can give us an idea of his worth.
From a Small Farm to a Meat Baron
Qureshi is an alumnus of the Doon Public School, Dehradun, and went on to complete his graduation from St Stephen’s College in New Delhi. He, however, began his career running a small slaughterhouse in Uttar Pradesh’s Rampur in 1993.
Qureshi’s business is said to have flourished into an empire within a decade, and by 2003, he was regarded as one of India’s biggest meat exporters.
From infrastructure to fashion, Qureshi had established 25 companies spread across various sectors. However, AMQ Agro, the firm that exported meat, remained his primary venture.
A Grand Wedding & Tax Troubles
Moin Qureshi is the father of Pernia Qureshi, one of India’s leading fashion and style icons. Her flagship venture, among many others, is Pernia’s Pop-Up Shop which boasts many Bollywood clients. A Bollywood stylist, Pernia has worked for Sonam Kapoor’s ‘Aisha’, among others.
Qureshi’s name came to light for a brief period in 2011 when his daughter married Arjun Prasad, a close relative of former Union Minister Jitin Prasad of the Congress party.
The businessman hired famous sufi singer Rahat Fateh Ali Khan to entertain his guests at the wedding. However, the Pakistani singer was detained by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence at the airport for not disclosing Rs 56 lakh in Indian rupees – which was allegedly taken as a fee for his performance.
This brought Qureshi’s name under the radar of the Income Tax Department for the first time.
According to India Today, the Income Tax Department conducted raids at 15 locations connected to Qureshi in 2014, seizing various documents and telephonic conversations.
Qureshi’s 'Shady' Connections, Offshore Accounts
Based on the documents seized, the I-T Department then informed the ED and the CBI regarding Qureshi's offshore assets.
Upon further investigation, Qureshi was found to hold an account with the Hong Kong branch of BSI Bank, which is one of the oldest Swiss wealth managers, reported The Indian Express.
He is also said to have bank accounts in South Africa, Jersey, and Bermuda. Since 2015, the ED has issued several notices to Qureshi under the 2015 Black Money Act for holding offshore bank accounts.
Ranjit Sinha was not the only CBI Director he was associated with. The search and the documents revealed that he conducted business operations from the premises that belonged to AP Singh, a former director of the agency.
When an FIR was filed against Qureshi for money laundering in February this year, AP Singh was also named in it. Singh allegedly shared information from the agencies with Qureshi, and helped him out in cases.
According to India Today, repeated notices were sent to Qureshi since 2014, and two FIRs were filed against the meat baron in early 2017.
(With inputs from Indian Express, India Today, Financial Express)
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