MUMBAI: A special Prevention of Money Laundering (PMLA) court has sent 33-year-old Gujarat resident Akram Mohammad Shafi, who was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday in connection with a money laundering probe to bank transactions worth ₹125 crore, up to seven days of ED custody.
Accused of 125 cr suspicious banking transactions remanded to ED custody
ED’s investigation stems from a police investigation against a Malegaon-based trader for suspicious transactions through misappropriation of bank accounts. On November 7, a case was filed against Siraj Hamed Memon, who operated a tea and cold drinks company, and his associates, following a complaint from an individual whose bank account was allegedly misused for unauthorized fund transfers.
According to the ED, the arrested suspect, Shafi, was allegedly involved in assisting Siraj in opening bank accounts used for transferring money amounting to ₹125 crore on shell companies. He was arrested from Ahmedabad airport on Wednesday and has been remanded in police custody till November 29.
The matter came to light after an FIR was registered at the Malegaon police station by a person whose documents were fraudulently used by Siraj and his aides to set up shell companies. Siraj allegedly opened bank accounts in the name of the shell companies with the Nashik Merchant Co-operative (NAMCO) Bank in Malegaon.
According to ED, Siraj allegedly collected the victim’s documents on the pretext of providing financial benefit or employment. The prosecution claimed that they analyzed fourteen accounts at NAMCO bank and found that there were more than ₹Within two months, Rs 118 crore was transferred from these accounts to various entities.
The suspect allegedly duped the victims by claiming that he planned to set up a maize trading company at the Agricultural Produce Market Committee, Malegaon, and instructed them to open bank accounts, ostensibly for transferring money to farmers, and give them jobs at to promise the market committee.
The ED submitted that their investigation revealed that Memon had also opened three accounts with the Bank of Maharashtra in the names of Choice Marketing, Megha traders and Sunrise traders, under which approximately ₹Within two months, Rs 41 crore was credited, which was then transferred to various other accounts.
According to the ED, Shafi stayed with Memon in Malegaon for a fortnight and helped him in arranging documents and opening bank accounts in the names of shell companies. A lookout circular was subsequently issued against Shafi, who was detained at Ahmedabad airport while on his way to Dubai.
The special PMLA court, while granting his custody to ED, noted that the prima facie investigation conducted by the agency shows that Shafi along with Memon was the mastermind behind the opening of the 14 bank accounts. “It shows that 14 accounts were created and a huge amount of cash was deposited,” Judge AC Daga said during special hearings, adding: “It is the accused who prima facie appears to have the identity arranged by persons in whose names the accounts are held. have been opened and have been involved in generating the proceeds of crime.”
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