The Enforcement Directorate on Tuesday afternoon registered a case against Iqbal Kaskar, brother of Dawood Ibrahim, and Mumtaz Sheikh and Israr Ali Sayyed, who were arrested last week by the Thane Police Crime Branch. ED officials have booked them under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.
The trio is accused of extorting a Thane-based builder and making him give them four flats in his Ghodbunder Road project and ₹30 lakh in 2013. They also forced a Thane-based jeweller to give them cash and jewellery worth ₹15 lakh in 2016.
“Inquiries made by the Thane Police indicated that Iqbal sent a large part of the extorted money abroad, which is the basis of our offence. We have initiated investigations,” said a senior officer.
The officer said that the agency will soon seek the court’s sanction to interrogate Iqbal and the co-accused, who are in the custody of the Anti Extortion Cell of the Thane Police Crime Branch.
“We will soon start conducting searches at the residence and other properties owned by Iqbal, who will be the primary focus of our investigation. The role of the other two accused seems to be mainly limited to aiding him in his extortion activities. We are also examining whether they had any part to play in the money laundering,” the officer said.
The ED is also investigating whether any other parties, like hawala agents, were involved in sending the money abroad, and where exactly the money was sent. ED officials said it was too early to comment on where the money was being sent.
