The Enforcement Directorate has attached properties linked to international drug dealer Iqbal Mirchi, who died in the United Kingdom in 2013. They are currently worth about ₹600 crore. The assets include the third and fourth floors of one Ceejay House and three flats at Worli, an office at Arun Chambers, and three shops at Crawford Market in Mumbai, besides bungalows and land in Lonavala, Maharashtra.
“These properties were acquired by Iqbal Mirchi in the name of his family members and relatives,” said the agency.
According to the ED, Mirchi's family owned the two floors in Ceejay House.
Investigations revealed that a part of the plot was earlier in the possession of one M. K. Mohammad. Mirchi allegedly entered into an agreement with him to acquire the rights in the property in the name of his wife Hajra Memon for ₹9 lakh and the agreement was executed in 1986, the agency said.
Although only ₹20,000 was paid, the possession was taken that year itself and the accused started running a discotheque in the name of “Fisherman’s Wharf”. At the time of redevelopment, he was allegedly given two floors in the new building, in the name of his wife and sons.
The ED alleges that to conceal the source of funds, Mirchi had bought one flat each in the name of his wife Hajra Memon, sister and brother. The property was later gifted to his wife and one son.
The Lonavala property was earlier in his wife’s name. In 2005, its ownership was transferred without any consideration to White Water Developers Limited, which was set up by Humayun Merchant, an alleged close associate of Mirchi. In 2010, the company’s directorship was given to Mirchi’s two sons.
Three more properties worth about ₹500 crore, located in Mumbai, have been attached by the ED.
Development rights
It is alleged that Sunblink Real Estate paid ₹111.80 crore to various persons and entities, including Mirchi, for development rights of these properties. An additional amount of about ₹154 crore was paid to Mirchi in Dubai, where he allegedly bought a hotel named Midwest Apartment, said the agency.
