Money laundering charges framed against Shabir Shah, Aslam Wani

Chargesheet against Al Badr Mujahideen operatives in Kashmir

JAMMU: A Delhi court on Wednesday framed money laundering charges against Kashmiri separatist leader Shabir Shah and alleged hawala dealer Mohammad Aslam Wani in a 2005 case of alleged terror financing; meanwhile the Enforcement Directorate also filed a charge sheet against two suspected operatives of militant outfit Al Badr Mujahideen in connection with its money laundering probe against them in a Srinagar Court.
In Delhi, Additional Sessions Judge Sidharth Sharma framed the charges to which both the accused pleaded not guilty and claimed trial.
The Enforcement Directorate had on September 23 filed the charge sheet against Shah accusing him being in touch with Pakistan-based terrorist Hafiz Saeed.
The charge sheet also named Wani, who is in judicial custody along with Shah.
The court had taken cognisance of the over 700-page charge sheet which relied upon 19 witnesses.
The central probe agency, in the charge sheet filed under sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), had furnished Shahs statements where he has allegedly told the investigators that he has "no source of income of his own" and that he does "not file any Income Tax Return (ITR)."
The probe agency had recorded the statement of 36-year old Wani where he allegedly said that he came to Delhi from Srinagar "at the directions of Shah" sometime in April, 2003 and that was the first time he had met him. Wani was arrested by the ED on August 6 from Srinagar.
The ED alleged that Wani was asked by Shah to "work for him (on a commission basis) in collecting hawala money from Delhi and deliver to him at Srinagar."
The case dates back to August 2005 in which the Delhi Polices Special Cell had earlier arrested Wani.
Wani had then claimed that he had given Rs 2.25 crore to Shah, following which the ED had registered a criminal case under PMLA against the duo in 2007.
Wani was arrested with Rs 63 lakh, allegedly received through hawala channels from the Middle East, and a cache of ammunition, on August 26, 2005.
During questioning, he had allegedly told the police that Rs 50 lakh was to be delivered to Shah and Rs 10 lakh to Jaish-e-Mohammad area commander in Srinagar, Abu Baqar, and that the rest was his commission.
Meanwhile, the ED today filed a charge sheet against two suspected operatives of militant outfit Al Badr Mujahideen in connection with its money laundering probe against them.
The central probe agency said it filed the charge sheet, called prosecution compliant in the Enforcement Directorate (ED) parlance, against Khurshid Ahmad Bhat and Inayatullah Shah before a special court here.
The case dates back to 2009 when Kashmir police arrested the duo and seized Rs 50,000, a Chinese grenade and some incriminating documents "related to militancy".
The agency registered a case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) based on the police FIR.
The ED said police recovered and seized a document on the letter head of 'Al Badr Mujahideen J&K' and a map on the information of Shah.
"The letter of the militant outfit group 'Al Badr Mujahideen J&K', recovered and seized by the police, contained the message that Rs 50,000 is being sent through Khurshid bhai who is our confident member and one grenade with khaka (map) is being sent through Inayat bhai. Both are the trusted members and will disclose information orally," the ED said.
During the probe, the accused tried to mislead and show the seized amount as sale of fruits to hide the nature of their illegal transactions in proceeds of crime, it said.
"The investigation has established that the seized amount of Rs 50,000 was proceeds of crime, derived and obtained, directly or indirectly, by Bhat and Shah as a result of criminal activity," the agency said in a statement.