Dr Farooq Abdullah clean bowled by Enforcement Directorate in the money laundering case of JKCA funds

Dr Farooq Abdullah misused his position and clout at JKCA by illegal appointments of office-bearers at JKCA for the purpose of laundering of JKCA Funds.

Sitting parliamentarian from Srinagar and National Conference President Dr Farooq Abdullah was clean bowled by the Enforcement Directorate ahead of the counting of votes of the District Development Council polls on December 22 as it went ahead and attached eight properties worth 11.86 crores in Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday.

The attached properties included three residential houses, one at Gupkar Road, Srinagar; one at Tehsil Katipora, Tanmarg, and one at Bhatindi, Village Sunjwan, (Jammu); commercial buildings at posh Residency Road area of Srinagar. Besides, lands at four different places in J&K have also been attached.

All the PAGD leaders including PDP Chief Mehbooba Mufti, who too had demanded CBI probe in the JKCA scam as opposition leader, maintained a stoic silence over the issue till late Saturday evening.

Reacting to the sudden development, National Conference Vice President and former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah posted three tweets stating, “My father has seen the media reports regarding attachment of his properties in the ongoing investigation into the JKCA (Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association) matter. Not surprisingly the media was tipped off regarding the seizure before he had received any official notice or documentation”.

Omar also questioned, “The properties attached are largely ancestral dating from the 1970s with the most recent one built before 2003. There can be no justification for the seizures because they fail the very basic test of having been acquired as the proceeds of the “crime” being investigated”.

In the last Omar announced, “Dr Abdullah is in touch with his lawyers & will fight all these baseless charges in the one place that matters – a court of law, where everyone is presumed to be innocent & is entitled to a fair trial unlike in the court of the media or the court of BJP managed social media”.

What ED investigation has revealed so far

Enforcement Directorate had recently grilled Dr Abdullah in Srinagar on October 19 for over seven hours in connection with a money laundering case linked with a multi-crore scam in the Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association.

On Saturday, the Enforcement Directorate in a comprehensive press statement said, “between years 2006 to January 2012, when Dr Farooq Abdullah was the President of JKCA, he misused his position and clout by illegal appointments of office-bearers at JKCA to whom he gave financial powers for the purpose of laundering of JKCA Funds’.

“During investigations, it is disclosed that out of the aforesaid attached properties the residence & the land of Dr Farooq Abdullah at Gupkar Road and commercial buildings at Residency Road, at prime upmarket locations, are basically State lands obtained on lease. It was also disclosed that the attached house at Bhatindi, Village Sunjwan, (Jammu) had been constructed by Dr Farooq Abdullah on State land and Forest land, where he has also grabbed State land and Forest land”, the statement said.

Between 2005 – 2006 to December 2011, JKCA received funds totalling to Rs. 109.78 crores from BCCI.

The investigation clearly brings out that Dr Farooq Abdullah was instrumental as well as the beneficiary of the laundered funds of JKCA.

Sharing details of JKCA scam, the ED statement said, “Despite existing regular bank accounts of JKCA, six new bank accounts were opened for parking of JKCA Funds and siphoning of the same. One dormant bank account in the name of Kashmir Wing of JKCA was also made operational for the same purpose”.

According to official sources, “it has surfaced that JKCA funds to the tune of more than Rs. 45 Crores have been siphoned, which includes heavy cash withdrawals of around Rs. 25 Crores, with no corresponding justification. Investigations disclose that for the purpose of generation of proceeds of crime, JKCA funds were layered by way of complex interbank transfers in all the bank accounts of JKCA and also by transfer to several personal bank accounts, followed by siphoning of the funds”.

History of the case

Dr Abdullah was earlier summoned to the office of Enforcement Directorate in Srinagar on October 19, a day after he joined hands with arch-rival of PDP Mehbooba Mufti and launched ‘Peoples Alliance for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD)‘ to fight for the restoration of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir.

Dr Abdullah had appeared before the Enforcement Directorate in the same matter to respond to their list of questions in July 2019.

All the PAGD leaders including PDP Chief Mehbooba Mufti, who too had demanded CBI probe in the JKCA scam as opposition leader, maintained a stoic silence over the issue till late Saturday evening.

Note:
1. The views expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of PGurus.