New Delhi, April 29 (). A special anti-money laundering court has allowed the Enforcement Directorate to attach additional properties belonging to late underworld don Iqbal Mirchi and his family under the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, 2018.
In the order passed on Wednesday, the court allowed the ED to attach the properties listed in Appendix ‘C’ under Section 5(1) of the FEO Act. Along with this, the court also allowed filing of an additional application under Section 13, so that the new assets that came to light during the investigation could also be included.
The application was filed by the Mumbai ED, stating that these properties have come to light during further investigation and are part of the already ongoing PMLA action.
These include three prime plots located in the Worli area of Mumbai, Rabia Mansion, Mariam Lodge and Sea View, spread over an area of approximately 4,970.41 square metres. Apart from this, Hotel Midwest Apartment and 14 real estate units located in Dubai are also included.
The ED claims that these properties were purchased by Iqbal Mirchi (Iqbal Memon) with the proceeds of crime and hidden through Mohammed Yusuf Trust and family members ‘Asif Iqbal Memon, Junaid Iqbal Memon and Hazra Iqbal Memon’.
The agency told the court that the accused have been declared fugitive economic offenders in February 2021 itself and instructions are already issued to confiscate their properties in India and abroad.
Investigation also revealed that Mirchi had purchased the Worli properties through his company in 1986 for Rs 6.5 lakh and later an attempt was made to hide the real ownership through trusts and fake tenants.
Accepting the ED’s application, the court said that the properties can be attached by following the procedure as per law.
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AMT/DKP
