On an eventful day, when he lost his son after an encounter with the Uttar Pradesh Police’s Special Task Force team, the noose appeared to be tightening around gangster turned politician Atiq Ahmed.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) made a breakthrough in a money laundering case against Ahmed, who is in jail in connection with the Umesh Pal murder case.
The central financial probe agency conducted simultaneous raids on 15 locations connected to Ahmed and his associates in Prayagraj. The agency recovered cash worth ₹75 lakhs in domestic and foreign currencies.
In addition, the ED found several benami properties worth crores of rupees, all of which were registered in the names of Ahmed’s acquaintances.
During the investigation, the ED and Income Tax Department discovered that Ahmed had converted his black money into white through builders, businessmen, and property dealers. They found documents and registries for several companies and properties at Ahmed’s and his associates’ locations.
Following the searches, ED also found that many high-value properties were registered in the names of his acquaintances. The documents revealed that some of Ahmed’s relatives were involved in these companies, ranging from MDs to directors. In one of the companies, Ahmed’s wife Shaiista Parveen and his elder son Umar were named as directors.
The investigation also found evidence of illegal transactions worth more than ₹55 crores from Ahmed’s addresses. The ED officials also questioned his close associates and found that all these companies were dummies, and different people had invested in them.
The ED raid resulted in documents related to 100 properties and about 200 suspicious bank accounts. The ED investigation has revealed that large amounts have been transferred from these bank accounts every month.
The ED disclosed the names of the dummy companies: M/s Jaffery State Limited, Fana Associated Private Limited, MJ Infra Green Private Limited, MJ Infra Housing Private Limited, MJ Infra Land, LLP, MJ Infra State Private Limited, F and A Associates Private Limited, Alina City-Phase 1, Gram Birmampur, Alina City-Phase 2, Gram Birmampur, Ahmad City, Gram Bakshi and Damupur, Asad City, Gram Saidpur (Bakshi), Sai Bihar Scheme, Gram Ravatpur (Lakhnpur), Roshanbagh Shopping Complex, Saidpur Housing Scheme, Saidpur Karenhada, Lakhnpur Housing Scheme, Lakhanpur, and Saidpur Gram Scheme, Gram Saidpur.