Former JK CM Farooq Abdullah summoned by ED in money laundering case

New Delhi: Farooq Abdullah, the former Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir has been summoned by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday and directed him to appear before it on May 31 in connection with a money laundering case.

Abdullah was summoned twice in the same case of money laundering against the office-bearers of the union territory's cricket association in October 2020 also.

The ED summon requires the former Chief Minister to appear before its Chandigarh office, but due to his ill health, there is a possibility that he might appear before the probe agency's Srinagar branch.

The ED had earlier seized property worth Rs 7.25 crore of Abdullah's associate Ahsan Ahmad Mirza.

The Board of Control of Cricket in India (BCCI) had given the Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association (JKCA) around Rs 112 crore during 2002 and 2011.

In 2003, Mirza was appointed as treasurer of the JCKA 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 JCKA were illegslly transferred into the account of Mirza.

The ED learnt in the investigation that Mirza with the help of other officer bearers misappropriated Rs 51.90 crore from JCKA's fund. He spent this one into repaying his business associates and spending on personal things.

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.

Ghazanfar was elected treasurer in 2007 and he detected the alleged fraud.

He told Abdullah about the illegal transaction buy the latter kept mum on the matter.

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 agency initiated PMLA probe in the matter on the basis of the CBI's FIR and charge sheet filed in 2019.

The ED has learnt that Mirza opened several accounts in J&K Bank on the basis of fake documents as per instruction of Abdullah and laundered funds. Mirza was made the cheque signatory of JCKA by Abdullah.

The ED has already filed a charge sheet in the matter.

The CBI had claimed in the charge sheet that funds of Rs 43 crore of JCKA were misappropriated by the accused.

With Inputs from IANS