The Enforcement Directorate (ED) today quizzed Maharashtra Minority Affairs minister Nawab Malik in a money-laundering case linked to gangster Dawood Ibrahim, his aides and the activities of the Mumbai underworld. Malik reached the ED’s Ballard Estate office in Mumbai early this morning and the central agency is reported to be recording his statement under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
According to the ED officials, the 62-year-old NCP leader is accused of being linked to some property deals that are under the Enforcement Directorate’s radar, thus necessitating the questioning. Nawab Malik and former Mumbai NCB zonal director Sameer Wankhede has been in the news for the last few months after the NCB arrested Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan Khan in a cruise ship drug case. Malik had made several personal and service-related allegations of wrongdoing against Wankhede. The NCB had arrested 20 people including Aryan in the cruise ship raid. Earlier last year, the NCB had arrested Malik’s son-in-law Sameer Khan in a drugs case.
This ED action comes following the registration of a new case and raids conducted by it on February 15 in Mumbai in connection with the operations of the underworld, Ibrahim’s aides, linked to alleged illegal property deals and hawala transactions.
The searches were conducted at 10 locations, including premises linked to 1993 Mumbai blasts mastermind Dawood Ibrahim’s late sister Haseena Parkar, brother Iqbal Kaskar and Salim Qureshi alias Salim Fruit, brother-in-law of gangster Chhota Shakeel. Kaskar, who was already in jail, was arrested by the agency last week. It also questioned Salim Qureshi and Parkar’s son.
(With inputs from PTI)
