ED attaches Bikaner fort owned by Moin Qureshi in PMLA case

New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate has attached an old fort in Bikaner, allegedly owned by controversial meat exporter Moin Qureshi and other properties, in connection with a money-laundering case, it is probing against him, which also implicates former CBI Director AP Singh.

Officials from the financial probe agency said on Tuesday that these properties, which included a farmhouse in Delhi's Chhatarpur area and other immovable properties in Dehradun and Goa, were registered to shell companies allegedly controlled by Qureshi. The total value of the attached assets is around Rs 9.35 crore, according to officials.

The ED had initiated a money-laundering case against Qureshi after taking cognisance of a CBI FIR, which alleged that the meat exporter was in frequent contact with senior officials of the Central Bureau of Investigation and would charge individuals to "settle" CBI cases in their favour by influencing these officials.

The CBI had registered this case based on information provided by the ED, which the latter had acquired during an investigation into a separate FEMA case against Qureshi. The CBI's FIR had detailed message transcripts between key players of the racket like AP Singh, Qureshi, Singh's daughter, Pradeep Koneru of Timex Group of Companies and others, which allegedly pointed towards a high-level corruption nexus.

Officials from the ED said that Qureshi would also use agents like Hyderabad-based businessman Satish Sana Babu to influence these senior CBI officers. Interestingly, the case that CBI had registered against its former Special Director Rakesh Asthana was also based on a complaint from Sana Babu. The ED had arrested Sana Babu in July this year and questioned him in custody with respect to this case. He is currently out on bail.

The ED has said that the proceeds of crime - Rs 12.69 crore of which has been identified - generated through this nexus were laundered by showing expenditures made by Qureshi, his wife and his family members abroad. The money was allegedly sent through hawala channels and then spent abroad, sometimes on behalf of the purportedly corrupt officials, the ED claimed, adding that some of the money was also invested in properties through shell companies.

The ED had earlier in 2017 attached assets of Qureshi worth Rs 3.34 crore, with officials saying that further investigation in the case is underway.