The Enforcement Directorate has secured non-bailable warrants from a special Mumbai court against Hajra Memon, wife of drug dealer Iqbal Mirchi, who died in the UK in 2013, and their two sons, Asif and Junaid, in a money laundering case.
The agency had earlier filed a chargesheet and moved an application for issuance of warrants against them. “The special court has issued open ended warrants against Hajra Memon, Asif and Junaid,” said an official.
The accused persons are currently in the UK. Based on the chargesheet and the non-bailable warrants, the ED can now approach the Interpol for issuance of Red Notices against them and, through the diplomatic channels, also seek their extradition.
In December 2019, the ED had attached assets currently worth ₹600 crore in the case .
They included the third and fourth floors of Ceejay House and three flats in Worli, an office at Arun Chambers, and three commercial shops at Crawford Market in Mumbai, apart from bungalows and a five-acre land parcel at Lonavala in Maharashtra.
The agency alleged that the properties were acquired by Iqbal Mirchi in the name of his family members and relatives. Several overseas assets have also been identified.
Also read: ED arrests DHFL promoter in probe into Iqbal Mirchi’s assets
It is alleged that Iqbal Mirchi's family owned two floors of Ceejay House. A portion of the plot was earlier in the possession of one M. K. Mohammad, who entered into an agreement to transfer property rights in the name of Iqbal Mirchi's wife for ₹9 lakh. It was executed in 1986.
The possession was taken the same year, despite the payment of only ₹20,000. Iqbal Mirchi started running Fisherman’s Wharf, a discotheque, from the premises. On redevelopment of the property, he was given two floors in the new building, which were in the name of his wife and sons, as alleged by the ED.
The Lonavala property was initially in the name of Iqbal Mirchi's wife. However, in 2005, the ownership was transferred without any consideration to White Water Developers Limited, which was set up by Humayun Merchant, an alleged aide of the drug dealer. The company's directorship was given to his two sons in 2010, the agency said.
