Chaini Parwani –
Published On: October 25, 2021 at 11:00 IST
A Vadodara Court Acknowledged four days’ extension of Police Remand of Salahuddin Sheikh and Mohammed Umar Gautam to the Special Investigation Team (SIT) of Vadodara city Police that is investigating the claimed misuse of foreign funds of the city-based American Federation of Muslims of Indian Origin (AFMI) Charitable trust.
The SIT prayed a remand extension for seven more days after the six-day period, permitted in an infrequent initial midnight Hearing on October 17, ended Saturday.
The SIT in its remand application, observed an in-depth probe was on into the alleged Hawala funds amounting to Rs 60 crore and Siphoning off foreign funds worth Rs 19 lakh secured by AFMI Trust since 2017.
The Police stated that the money stream highlighted huge Illegal activity such as Tax evasion worth Crores of Rupees as well as money laundering for which noteworthy agencies of the Country are being requested to join the Investigation.
The Remand Application observed that the accomplices of Sheikh – managing trustee of AFMI and Umar Gautam who have been served a summons to join the probe, are yet to Respond to the Police.
Further the probe into the alleged Hawala transactions is a sine qua non and hence the Custody of the held was necessary.
The SIT has subpoenaed Nabipur-native and UK-based Abdullah Fefdawala, who is arising as the biggest benefactor of AFMI trust as well as a link to many of the contacts of the two Accused.
Furthermore, a Summon has also directed to Mustafa Thanawala, a Mumbai businessman based in Dubai held of helping route the hawala funds to Sheikh, and a Dubai-based man named Kiden Johar Dhoklawala to Investigate into the Hawala transactions.
The Vadodara SIT, which has also appointed a professional Chartered Accountant to help navigate through the money trail and accounts to probe the Illegal funding, has also written to the Enforcement Directorate, the Income Tax department and the Ministry of External Affairs to launch a simultaneous probe under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and Tax evasions by the Trust.
To observe with a production Warrant issued by the Vadodara Court, Sheikh and Gautam, on October 16, were presented to Vadodara from Lucknow Central Jail, where they were in Judicial Custody following an Arrest by the Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terrorism Squad that was investigating an alleged Case of unethical religious conversion by Gautam.
The Vadodara Police have charged Sheikh and Gautam for hurting Religious sentiments, Forgery, Cheating and Criminal Conspiracy.
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