 "Amanatullah Khan")
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrested three alleged associates of AAP MLA Amanatullah Khan on Saturday in connection with a money-laundering case linked to alleged irregularities in the recruitment of staff for the Delhi Waqf Board, official sources said.
The agency had last month raided the premises of the 49-year-old Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) legislator who represents the Okhla constituency in the Delhi Assembly.
Zeeshan Haider, Daud Nasir and Jawed Immam Siddiqui have been taken into custody under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), the sources said. The ED claimed that the three were "associates" of Khan and had dubious cash transactions between them.
The federal agency had alleged after the raids that Khan had acquired "huge proceeds of crime" in cash from illegal recruitment of staff in the Delhi Waqf Board and invested those to purchase immovable assets in the name of his associates.
"The searches were conducted in the case related to illegal recruitment of staff in Delhi Waqf Board and illegal personal gains by way of unfairly leasing out of Waqf Board properties during the chairmanship of the board by Amanatullah Khan during 2018-2022," the agency said in a statement.
It said a CBI FIR and three Delhi Police complaints formed the basis of the ED action against the AAP MLA.
Khan, the ED said, "acquired huge proceeds of crime out of the said criminal activities in cash and this cash amount was invested in purchase of various immovable properties in Delhi in the name of his associates".
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Several "incriminating" materials in the form of physical and digital evidence, which "indicate" the role of Khan in the offence of money laundering, were seized during the raids, it said.
Delhi Chief Minister and AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal had alleged earlier that there was a campaign underway to destroy the party and asserted that false cases were being filed against its leaders.
