E-Paper
ED files additional charge sheet in money laundering case, court summons for Farooq Abdullah
Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister asked to appear before court on August 27 in relation to the cricket association money laundering case
Enforcement Directorate (ED) filed an additional charge sheet against the National Conference (NC) president and former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Farooq Abdullah in the case related to misappropriation of funds in Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association (J&KCA) during his tenure as the body president.
A summon has been issued by the Srinagar principal district and sessions judge to appear for Abdullah before the court on August 27.
Divulging details the ED, which is investigating the case and has already questioned the former chief minister in connection with the same, wrote, “ED has filed a supplementary PC under PMLA, 2002, before the Spl PMLA court, Srinagar, against Dr. Farooq Abdullah and others on 4/6/2022. Court has taken cognizance of the complaint and issued notices to the accused persons for appearance before the court on 27.08.2022.”
Abdullah was questioned by the ED during the probe in May, with the agency already attaching the leader’s property worth nearly ₹12 crore. He had earlier been questioned in relation to the case in Jammu back in 2019 and 2020.
The case
The case pertains to an alleged fraud of ₹113 crore linked to the Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association (JKCA), in which former association office-bearers, including general secretary Mohammed Saleem Khan and former treasurer Ahsan Ahmad Mirza have also been booked.
ED had earlier alleged that Abdullah “misused” his position as JKCA president in the past and made appointments in the sports body in a bid to launder Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI)-sponsored funds.
The agency had attached residential and commercial properties owned by Abdullah worth ₹11.86 in December 2020, prompting the NC leader to approach the high court.
Abdullah had, at the time, responded by saying the properties attached in the case were not related to the alleged fraud and were either ancestral or acquired prior to the alleged offence, while adding that the developments were expected ahead of the elections.
“This will go on till elections are held in Jammu and Kashmir. We will be harassed like this,” Farooq Abdullah had told reporters outside the ED office at Rajbagh, New Delhi, back in May.
