Delhi court orders framing of money laundering charges against Yasin Malik and six others

New Delhi: A Delhi court has ordered framing of money laundering charges against the jailed chief of banned Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front, Yasin Malik, and six others.

According to the Enforcement Directorate (ED), the case pertains to receiving funds from Pakistan through hawala.



Read more: NIA court frames charges against Yasin Malik, 6 others for offence of money laundering; ED alleges foreign funding through Hawala

Special Judge Prashant Sharma ordered on September 9 framing of charges under Sections 3 (offence of money laundering) and 4 (punishment for money laundering) of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) against Malik and others, saying there was "prima facie strong suspicion" against the seven accused.

The other accused are Zahoor Ahmad Shah Watali, Abdul Rashid Sheikh, Shabir Ahmad Shah, Naval Kishore Kapoor, Masrat Alam Bhat and Trison Frams and Construction Pvt Ltd.

The agency alleged that the accused persons received funds from Pakistani establishments to propagate their secessionist agenda and indulge in subversive activities.

Read more: 2008 Ahmedabad bomb blasts: SC stays execution of death penalty of Indian Mujahideen operative

According to court sources, the accused could not be produced physically in court on September 30 for formal framing of charges, following which the judge directed ED to get the charges signed by the accused in the prisons where they are incarcerated.

They said that the court has posted the matter for further proceedings on October 30.

The ED case stems from a 2017 NIA case, where the agency had invoked several charges including of criminal conspiracy under the Indian Penal Code and the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act against the accused.