Mumbai Court Frames Money Laundering Charges Against Former Maharashtra Minister Nawab Malik in Dawood Ibrahim-Linked Case

The Enforcement Directorate arrested Nawab Malik in February 2022 regarding the money laundering case.

Mumbai:

A special court in Mumbai has framed charges against former Maharashtra minister and NCP leader Nawab Malik in a money laundering case connected to activities of fugitive gangster Dawood Ibrahim and his associates. Malik has pleaded not guilty to these charges.

Special Judge for MPs/MLAs cases, SR Navander, determined there was "sufficient material on record" to proceed with the trial under Section 3, read with Section 70, of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002.

The Enforcement Directorate has accused Malik of conspiring with key members of Dawood Ibrahim's network—his sister Haseena Parkar, her associate Salim Patel, and 1993 Mumbai blasts accused Sardar Khan—to launder assets derived from a property in Kurla known as the Goawala Compound.

The court dismissed a discharge application filed by Malik's companies, Malik Infrastructure Pvt Ltd and Solidus Investments Pvt Ltd, which claimed that the Enforcement Directorate's case was based on "guesses and conjectures."

Despite Malik's argument that Malik Infrastructure was only established in 2010-11 and couldn't be held responsible for earlier transactions, the court rejected this plea, noting that Malik himself is the "controlling mind" of the company.

According to the court order, the power of attorney for the land was forged, and the property was unlawfully transferred to Solidus, which is controlled by Malik's family.

The court emphasized that rent collected from the disputed property by both Solidus Investments and Malik Infrastructure constituted "proceeds of crime" under Section 2(1)(u) of the PMLA.

The property in question originally belonged to two women, Munira Plumber and Marium Goawala. The court noted that documents relied upon by the ED included allegedly forged powers of attorney, along with a leave-and-licence agreement and a declaration related to the Kurla compound.

Sardar Khan, the fourth accused, is currently serving a life sentence in Amravati jail in connection with the 1993 Bombay blasts case; the court will frame separate charges against him.

Malik's defense counsel had previously requested a delay, citing a pending writ petition in the Bombay High Court and claiming that the ED had suppressed documents favorable to the defense, but the court refused to postpone the proceedings.

The ED arrested Malik in February 2022 in connection with the case. He is currently on medical bail, granted by the Supreme Court.