Shabir Shah’s aide held in money laundering case
CRACKDOWN ED arrested Mohd Aslam Wani, an alleged hawala dealer, from Srinagar
NEWDELHI: Enforcement Directorate on Sunday arrested alleged hawala dealer Mohammad Aslam Wani , a close aide of Kashmiri separatist Shabir Shah, in connection with a decade-old money laundering case from Srinagar with the help of the state police.
Though Wani was granted bail in the same case and his name was cleared of terror charges by a Delhi court in 2010, ED believes that his alleged involvement with Hawala operators based out of India will provide necessary impetus to its case against Shah. Wani was produced before a Delhi court on Sunday and sent to custody till August 14.
The ED case against Shah goes back to 2005 when Wani was arrested by the special cell of Delhi Police.
Delhi police had claimed that Wani was arrested along with ₹63 lakh out of which ₹50 lakh were to be delivered to Shah, the leader of Democratic Freedom Party.
Delhi police had also claimed that Wani in the past delivered ₹2.25 crore to Shah.
A senior ED official said the ongoing investigation against Shah has been widened to look into allegations of funding militant groups based in Kashmir and Wani needed to be interrogated alongside the separatist leader who is currently under arrest.
“The warrant has been executed and Wani will now be confronted with Shah and others in order to take the probe forward,” a senior official in the central probe agency said.
Enforcement Directorate had arrested Shah on July 25.Speaking to Hindustan Times before his arrest, Shah had called the case against him politically motivated. However, ED has maintained that properties owned by Shah and his wife might have been purchased from money coming from Pakistan through Hawala channels.
Shah’s custody had also been extended till August 9 after the court was told that the international links of the case were to be explored.
The Enforcement Directorate, sources said, wants to carry investigations into the “proceeds of crime” of alleged terror financing in this case.