ED files chargesheet against Pak man who made Indian govt IDs for Bangaldeshis in Kolkata
Enforcement Directorate
has filed a chargesheet under the
anti-money laundering law
against a Pakistani man, living as an Indian in Kolkata, after illegally procuring as many as five vital government IDs including Aadhaar, voter card and passport.
He was laundering funds by making "fake" Indian IDs for Bangladeshis who came here and through other illegal activities like hawala, the federal probe agency said in a statement on Monday.
The ED said it has submitted the prosecution complaint against the man named
Ajad Mallik
alias Ahammed Hossain Azad and Azad Hossain before a special Prevention of
Money Laundering
(PMLA) court in Kolkata on June 13.
Play Video
Pause
Skip Backward
Skip Forward
Unmute
Current Time
0:00
/
Duration
0:00
Loaded
:
0%
0:00
Stream Type
LIVE
Seek to live, currently behind live
LIVE
Remaining Time
-
0:00
1x
Playback Rate
Chapters
Chapters
Descriptions
descriptions off
, selected
Captions
captions settings
, opens captions settings dialog
captions off
, selected
Audio Track
default
, selected
Picture-in-Picture
Fullscreen
This is a modal window.
Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window.
Text
Color
White
Black
Red
Green
Blue
Yellow
Magenta
Cyan
Opacity
Opaque
Semi-Transparent
Text Background
Color
Black
White
Red
Green
Blue
Yellow
Magenta
Cyan
Opacity
Opaque
Semi-Transparent
Transparent
Caption Area Background
Color
Black
White
Red
Green
Blue
Yellow
Magenta
Cyan
Opacity
Transparent
Semi-Transparent
Opaque
Font Size
50%
75%
100%
125%
150%
175%
200%
300%
400%
Text Edge Style
None
Raised
Depressed
Uniform
Drop shadow
Font Family
Proportional Sans-Serif
Monospace Sans-Serif
Proportional Serif
Monospace Serif
Casual
Script
Small Caps
Reset
restore all settings to the default values
Done
Close Modal Dialog
End of dialog window.
by Taboola
by Taboola
Sponsored Links
Sponsored Links
Promoted Links
Promoted Links
You May Like
새로 나온 '실손보험' 최적가 비교추천! "월 보험료 줄이고, 보장은 더 든든하게"...
굿리치 보험대리점 (등록번호:제2006038313호)
가격 받기
Undo
The court has taken cognisance against the "Pakistani national" and fixed a date for hearing, it said.
The ED, which carried out raids in this case in April, had then said in a press statement that Mallik was a Bangladeshi national. It arrested Mallik under the anti-money laundering law and the probe brought to light that he was indeed a Pakistani national.
Live Events
The ED case stems from a
West Bengal Police FIR
against Mallik and unidentified others for violation of the Foreigners Act of 1946.
"Probe found that the man was a Pakistani national illegally living in India," the ED statement said.
"A Pakistani driving licence dating back to 1994 was recovered from his mobile phone bearing the name Azad Hossain and featuring the photograph of Ajad Mallik alias Ahammed Hossain Azad. It listed his father's name as Mumtaz-Ul-Haque and a permanent address in Pakistan," the ED said.
It said the driving licence recorded his date of birth as 14.08.1971 and it was issued by the Licensing Authority in Hyderabad, Pakistan.
In order to "conceal" his true identity, the ED said, the man adopted the alias "Ajad Mallik" and procured multiple Indian identity documents like Aadhaar, PAN (permanent account number issued by the income-tax department) card, driving license, voter ID and passport by submitting "forged" and "fabricated" documents, as per the ED.
The agency found that the man operated a "hawala" network to facilitate illegal cross-border remittances between India and Bangladesh, collecting payments in cash and UPI, before transferring equivalent amounts to Bangladesh using platforms like 'Bkash', an online financial transaction platform of Bangladesh.
"He was also involved in illegal money transfers and document forgery and was actively involved in facilitating the preparation of visas and passports for
Bangladeshi nationals
seeking to travel to countries like Dubai, Cambodia and Malaysia," the ED said.
The Pakistani man collected payments in Bangladeshi Taka, US Dollar, and Indian Rupee and deposited these amounts into his own bank account or transferred them to the accounts of associates engaged in fraudulent visa or passport processing, the ED alleged.
He played a "significant" role in "fraudulent" activities carried out at certain forex changers (full-fledged money changers) based in Kolkata, in which "huge" cash deposits were declared as proceeds from legitimate foreign currency sales to customers but were actually "proceeds of crime" linked to "unlawful" activities including the creation of "fake" Indian identities for Bangladeshis to obtain passports, the ED said.
The ED had said in April that the man has two sons, Osama Bin Azad and Omar Faruk, and his wife Maymuna Akhter, residing in Bangladesh and are citizens of that country. It said the man "frequently" visited Bangladesh to meet his family.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
NDTV
25 minutes ago
- NDTV
West Bengal Cops Recover Stolen Padma Shri Award Of Ex-Swimmer In 48 Hours, 1 Arrested
The sleuths of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of West Bengal Police have recovered the stolen Padma Shri award of internationally acclaimed (former) Indian swimmer, also an Arjuna Award winner, Bula Chowdhury, within 48 hours from the time of theft. Confirming this development, an official of the state police said that one person has been arrested in this connection and based on his interrogation, the sleuths were able to track the prestigious award. However, he refused to divulge further on this issue, and said that the details will be provided at a press conference later in the day to be addressed by the Hooghly district Police Superintendent. Chowdhury, who was also a former CPI(M) legislator from 2006 to 2011, thanked the police for acting promptly and recovering her award so soon. Although Choudhury currently stays in Kasba in South Kolkata, all her awards, trophies, and medals, which she earned during her swimming career, were displayed at her ancestral residence at Hind-Motor in Hooghly district, where it was stolen last Friday. Although initially the investigation was started by the Hooghly district police, later the charge of the investigation was handed over to the CID. She used to come to her ancestral residence every week and inspect whether her awards, trophies, and medals were preserved and maintained properly. On Friday, it was noted that her Padma Shri award shield was missing from the place where it was displayed. Later, it was discovered that some of her awards, trophies, and medals were also stolen. Milan Chowdhury, the brother of the champion swimmer, who stays at that Hind-Motor residence, said that there were three robbery attempts at the residence earlier. "Each time, police complaints were registered, and a routine investigation was carried out. However, subsequent robbery attempts did not stop. Even for a brief period, a police picket was also put up there, only to be withdrawn after a certain period," he said.
Time of India
29 minutes ago
- Time of India
Man sends bomb to love interest's husband in music speaker: Chhattisgarh police bust explosives racket; probe under way
NEW DELHI: Police in Chhattisgarh foiled a planned murder attempt and uncovered an illegal explosives supply racket with the arrest of a 20-year-old electrician who allegedly planted an improvised explosive device (IED) in a music system speaker and sent it as a gift to the husband of a woman he was infatuated with, officials said on Sunday. The prime accused, identified as Vinay Verma from Kusami village in Khairagarh, was arrested along with six others in connection with the case, Khairagarh-Chhuikhadan-Gandai Superintendent of Police (SP) Lakshya Sharma told PTI. 'This action not only thwarted a planned murder but also exposed a network of illegal explosive supply in the region,' Sharma said. According to police, the conspiracy came to light when a suspicious gift-wrapped parcel, bearing a fake India Post logo, was delivered three to four days ago to a shop in Manpur village under Gandai police station limits. The parcel was addressed to local resident Afsar Khan. Finding it suspicious, Khan alerted the police. A bomb disposal team examined the package and discovered a 2-kg IED concealed inside a new music speaker. Technical analysis showed the device was designed to detonate when plugged in, with current passing to a detonator linked to the speaker's wiring. Gelatin sticks were used as the main explosive, while the speaker's casing would have acted as shrapnel, Sharma said. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Last Chance: 80% Off This Artisan's Retirement Jewelry Sale The Heritage Journal Read More Undo Investigators said Verma, an electrician, assembled the IED using online tutorials. His phone's Google search history revealed searches such as 'how to kill a person using a bomb without being caught by police.' Police believe he targeted Khan because he had been in one-sided love with Khan's wife since her college days, and plotted to eliminate her husband after their marriage a few months ago. The other arrested accused have been identified as Parmeshwar Verma (25), Gopal Verma (22), Ghasiram Verma (46), Dilip Dhimar (38), Gopal Khelwar, and Khilesh Verma (19), police said. Parmeshwar allegedly paid Rs 6,000 to procure gelatin rods from Gopal and Dilip, both residents of Durg. Ghasiram delivered the explosives, while Khilesh prepared the fake India Post logo used on the parcel. Raids at the premises of Gopal and Dilip in Durg led to the seizure of 60 gelatin sticks and two detonators. Police said the explosives had been illegally diverted from a quarry in the Patharia area of Durg district, whose operator will also be questioned. In April 2023, a similar incident in neighbouring Kabirdham district claimed the lives of a newly married man and his elder brother when a home theatre system gifted by the man's wife's former lover exploded inside their house. Further investigation in the latest case is under way and strict legal action will be taken against all those involved, police said.
Indian Express
an hour ago
- Indian Express
Delhi court discharges journalist Rajeev Sharma, 2 others in money laundering case
A Delhi court last month discharged journalist Rajeev Sharma from an offence lodged by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in 2021 for money laundering stemming from alleged spying for Chinese intelligence and having classified documents related to national security. This was after recording that the ED's prosecution was without jurisdiction in the absence of a scheduled offence. Discharging the three accused in the ED case: Sharma, Chinese national Qing Shi and another Sher Singh alias Raj Bohara, the court observed in its order from July 16 and made public on August 11 that the scheduled offence is the 'very foundation on which a money laundering charge rests' and if the foundation fails, 'the superstructure must collapse'. Sharma was first booked in an FIR in 2020, registered under the Official Secrets Act at the special cell of the Delhi Police, for allegedly maintaining links with Chinese intelligence officers and transmitting sensitive information relating to national security and foreign affairs through electronic means. It was also alleged that he received funds via hawala channels and Western Union. He was arrested in this case in September 2020. According to the police, subsequent probe had revealed that some payments were routed through shell companies which were operated by Chinese nationals, namely Cheng Zhang and Qing Shi. These companies were then allegedly used to deliver hawala funds to Sharma through Raj Bohara alias Sher Singh. The accused, while seeking their discharge from the ED case, had argued that no offence of money laundering is present in the predicate offence and since the Official Secrets Act offences are not scheduled under the PMLA and the only Indian Penal Code (IPC) charge in the predicate FIR is Section 120B (criminal conspiracy), there is no ground to proceed with the prosecution complaint filed under the PMLA. The special PMLA court also recorded that the 'existence of a Scheduled Offence must be real and demonstrable on the basis of the prosecution's case' and it 'cannot be the product of speculative or inferential reasoning'. Relying on the judicial precedent set by the Supreme Court, Additional Sessions Judge Aparna Swami of Patiala House Court reasoned that it is 'abundantly clear that a prosecution under PMLA is not maintainable where the alleged predicate offence is not one of the offences enumerated in the schedule to the PMLA'. 'The commission of a scheduled offence is the very foundation on which a money laundering charge rests. If the foundation fails, the superstructure (herein PMLA case) must collapse. In practical terms, this means that if the only invoked offences in the predicate FIR/ chargesheet are outside the Schedule, the Enforcement Directorate has no jurisdiction to proceed under the PMLA.' The ED had argued that, although the police in the predicate offence did not explicitly charge the accused persons with IPC Section 411 (dishonestly obtaining or retaining stolen property), which is also a scheduled offence to prosecute under PMLA, the factual allegation implicitly makes out such an offence. The argument, however, did not cut teeth with the court, as it observed, '…the arguments of the ED essentially ask the court to look beyond the formal chargesheet and infer that a property offence (theft/ receiving of stolen property) was inherently involved in the accused's act of espionage…This the submissions to be misconceived in law and unsupported by facts on record.' 'The suggestion of a Section 411 IPC offence arises solely from the ED's own conjecture during arguments; however, the same was not part of the case originally made by the investigating authorities…An offence under the Official Secrets Act does not inherently involve theft of information,' the court added. 'The Enforcement Directorate's attempt to retroactively read a section 411 IPC offence into the facts of the present case is not legally tenable…It is beyond the mandate of a PMLA court to enlarge the scope of predicate case by adding new offences on a factual hypothesis.' Discharging the three, the court held that their 'PMLA prosecution is devoid of legal foundation' as the predicate offences under Sections 3, 4 and 5 of the Official Secrets Act and Section 120B of the IPC are not Scheduled Offences under the PMLA, adding that 'no amount of inventive argument can make good this fundamental deficiency'.
