Chargesheet against Hafiz Saeed, others

ED probe reveals “hawala” transactions.

Hafiz Saeed, the head of the banned Jamaat-ud-Dawa and founder of the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), leaves after an appearance in court in Lahore in this May 5, 2009 file photo. The international police agency Interpol on August 26, 2009 has issued a "red notice" alert for a Pakistani Islamist wanted in India in connection with attacks in Mumbai that strained relations between the nuclear-armed rivals. India says Saeed, founder of the LeT militant group, was the mastermind of November's attacks in India's commercial hub in which 166 people were killed. REUTERS/Mohsin Raza/Files (PAKISTAN CRIME LAW POLITICS RELIGION)

The Enforcement Directorate has filed a chargesheet against Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) chief Hafiz Saeed, the Pakistan-based terrorist who is also the founder of the Jamaat-ud-Dawah (JuD) and the Falah-i-Insaniyat Foundation (FIF), and others in a terror-funding case.

Among those arraigned are Hafiz Saeed’s deputy Shahid Mehmood, one Salman, Dubai-based Pakistan national Mohammed Kamran, and Mohammed Salim, an alleged “hawala” operator from Delhi.

The ED probe is based on a chargesheet filed by the NIA under various provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, against Salman, Salim and Kamran. It is alleged that Salman received funds from FIF operators and his associates through the “hawala” channel. “FIF is a Pakistan-based terror organisation established by JuD ... The Foundation was designated a terrorist organisation by the United Nations on March 14, 2012. Hafiz Saeed was also designated a global terrorist. FIF, a front of LeT and JuD, was floated to evade sanctions,” said an ED official.

The Indian government also declared the FIF a terror outfit on August 12, 2016, while the U.S. Department of State had added it as an alias of the LeT in November 2010.

“This was done with an intention to stem the flow of finances and resources through FIF to LeT and also to prosecute those knowingly providing funds and material support to the terrorist outfits,” said the official.The ED probe revealed that funds were routed from Pakistan to Dubai and then to India through the “hawala” channels. “Salman received the money sent by Kamran and his associates, Abdul Aziz Behlim and Arif Gulambashir Dharampuria, in Dubai. The NIA had seized documents during searches on the premises of suspects, corroborating the ‘hawala’ transactions.”

Salman also allegedly used the funds received from abroad to construct a mosque in Haryana’s Palwal, where he also got the girls of poor families married.

Based on the findings, the ED has quantified the proceeds of crime to the tune of ₹4.69 crore. Salman’s three properties in Delhi, worth ₹73.12 lakh, have been attached so far. “Salman and Salim are in judicial custody,” the official said.