Assets worth Rs 18.37 crore of Zakir Naik’s NGO, others attached
Mumbai: It was further trouble for Islamic preacher Zakir Naik as the Enforcement Directorate on Monday attached his and others assets worth Rs 18.37 crore in connection with its money laundering probe.
According to information, the ED issued a provisional order under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) attaching mutual funds worth about Rs 9.41 crore and five bank accounts containing deposits worth Rs 1.23 crore in the name of Naik’s NGO Islamic Research Foundation (IRF).
Besides that the ED order also attached a school building valued at Rs 7.05 crore belonging to Islamic Education Trust Chennai and a godown building in the name of Ms Harmony Media Private Limited worth Rs 68 lakhs.
The ED said it attached the assets “in view of their involvement in the case.”
The ED agency had registered a criminal case against Naik and others last December after taking cognisance of an NIA complaint filed under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).
It had also issued four summons to Naik to depose before it, but the agency said the preacher has “avoided” all of them.
“The investigations reveal that the proceeds of crime generated through the provocative speech of Naik have been either routed and transferred or utilised for the purpose other than for which they have been generated, by way of creating communal disharmony and for inciting the Muslim youths and terrorists.
“Due to the said reason, the trust/organisation IRF has been banned under the provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967,” it said in a statement.
Prior to attaching his assets, the agency had earlier arrested Naik’s close aide, Amir Abdul M Gazdar, who is presently under judicial custody.