New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) Thursday filed a prosecution complaint against four persons associated with the Popular Front of India (PFI) and its student wing Campus Front of India (CFI), including Kerala-based journalist Siddique Kappan, under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) claiming that they received money from abroad for “unlawful activities”.
According to the ED, the men — national treasurer of CFI, Atikur Rahman, Delhi general secretary of CFI, Masud Ahmed, CFI-PFI member Mohammad Alam and journalist ‘associated with PFI’, Siddique Kappan — along with other members, activists of the organisations, received around Rs 1.36 crore from illegal sources and used part of it for “unlawful activities over time”.
These included, funding of anti-CAA protests, inciting violence and fomenting trouble, which led to northeast Delhi riots in February 2020 and their visit to Hathras, Uttar Pradesh, with an “intent to disturb communal harmony, incite communal riots and spread terror”.
According to the ED, the men were to visit Hathras under the instructions of K.A. Rauf Sherif, national general secretary of CFI and a member of PFI, and funds for the same were sourced from Gulf countries. Sherif was arrested by the ED on 12 December.
The four men, including Kappan, were arrested by the UP Police from Mathura while they were on their way to Hathras to meet the family of the 19-year-old woman who was allegedly gang-raped.
This is the first prosecution complaint filed in relation to the ongoing investigation against PFI and its related organisations by ED. The ED claimed that it initiated an investigation under the PMLA taking cue from UP Police’s FIR against the four.
According to UP Police, the four men, who were booked under criminal conspiracy and the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, were on their way to Hathras to “disturb communal harmony, to incite violence and to spread terror”.
An ED officer said that Sherif, who allegedly facilitated the visit to Hathras, entered into a criminal conspiracy with PFI members stationed in Gulf countries to fraudulently transfer money raised and collected abroad by the PFI in the guise of payments related to business transactions.
The money, which amounts to Rs 1.36 crore, the ED said, was then laundered through different layers and eventually reached Sherif and his associates belonging to the PFI and CFI.
The ED also claimed that part of the “proceeds of crime” was projected as untainted money and was used for the purchase of land and was thus parked to enable its future use by PFI and CFI.
Also read: ‘PFI link, anti-CAA, riot intention’ — What Kerala journalist headed to Hathras is accused of
‘Over Rs 100 crore deposited’
The ED further claimed that more than Rs 100 crore have been deposited in the accounts of PFI over the years, and that a very large part of the same has been deposited in cash.
It also alleged that PFI has been “continuously indulging in various scheduled offences under the PMLA ever since the Narath arms training case of 2013”.
Members of the PFI, Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) were convicted in the case, investigated by the NIA, for organising a terrorist camp and entering into a criminal conspiracy to impart training to the youth in use of explosives and weapons, with an intention to prepare them for terrorist activities”.
“Involvement of PFI and its related organisations in the commission of such scheduled offences and the money transfers and cash deposits have significantly increased since the said incident in 2013,” a second ED officer said.
“Further, investigation has revealed that PFI has been involved in anti-CAA protests and several PFI members and activists were also arrested by the Delhi Police in connection with their investigation in the said Delhi riots case,” the officer added.
‘Funds through hawala’
ED officers also claimed that search operations conducted at the offices of PFI led to the seizure of incriminating documentary evidence, which revealed that PFI has been collecting huge amounts of funds abroad through PFI members and activists specifically appointed for this purpose and that targets for foreign collection of funds have also been fixed.
“These funds have been remitted to India through hawala and underground channels and through remittances sent to the accounts of members, activists, office-bearers of PFI and related organisations and also to their family members and associates,” the first officer said.
“Further, statutory compliance for collection of funds abroad and their remittance to India have not been done by PFI and its related organisations like Rehab India Foundation (which received around Rs 50 lakh as foreign contribution from abroad) as they are not registered under the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act, 1976,” he said.
The ED alleged that investigation regarding money laundering activities of PFI and its related organisations and the use of such funds in various unlawful activities is in progress and Supplementary Prosecution Complaints shall be filed in future.
PFI refutes allegations
Reacting to ED’s allegations, Anis Ahmed, General Secretary, PFI in a statement said “wanton attempts have been made to mislead the media and society about our organization.”
“Instead of proving its case through transparent investigations, ED continues to drag the name of Popular Front into fabricated and politically motivated case like the imaginary ‘instigation of caste violence’ at Hatras,” the statement said.
The PFI said “ED has zero credibility left as an investigation agency”.
“What Popular Front draws from it is that ED has been pressurized by the BJP led central government to defame Popular Front. This attitude of the ED to target Popular Front only proves that it is serving the interest of RSS,” the statement added.
Also read: Kerala journalist was asked to travel to Hathras by Delhi riots accused, UP govt tells SC