ED files 10,000-pg charge sheet in Iqbal Mirchi case

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Monday filed a 10,000-page charge sheet against 16 people in connection with a money-laundering case related to gangster Iqbal

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Monday filed a 10,000-page charge sheet against 16 people in connection with a money-laundering case related to gangster Iqbal Mirchi.

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The agency has so far arrested two alleged aides of the gangster – Haroun Yusuf, a British national, and Humayun Merchant; Ranjeet Bindra, a broker, and Rinku Deshpande, through whom Bindra allegedly received his commission. Along with the four, the agency has named Iqbal Mirchi and his family members, and Sunblink Real Estate Pvt Ltd and its directors as accused.

ED started an investigation into the gangster’s assets in the city on the basis of eight cases of narcotics smuggling and extortion registered against him since 1985. The central agency alleged in 1986, Mirchi purchased three properties from Mohammad Yusuf Trust for ₹6.5 lakh through his company M/s Rockside Enterprises. These properties – Sea View, Marium Lodge and Rabia Mansion – were bought using the proceeds of crime, ED alleged. As Mirchi subsequently left the country and was declared a proclaimed offender, the properties were confiscated by the Mumbai police under the Smugglers and Foreign Exchange Manipulators Act (SAFEMA). However, during the court battle, the trust alleged that the properties still belonged to them and not Mirchi. The court then handed over the properties to the trust in 2005.

ED claimed Mirchi used the trust as a front and began negotiating with several developers to redevelop the properties. Between 1981 and 2010, the original tenants were replaced with Mirchi’s relatives. The agency claimed that by 2005, almost all tenants were Mirchi’s nominees and were planted by Merchant in connivance with Yusuf.

In 2007, a deal was finalised between the trust and a developer – Joy Home Creations Pvt Limited – after a meeting with Mirchi in London. In 2010, Mirchi allegedly threatened the developer to withdraw, as he failed to make payments as promised. Later, in 2010, M/s Sunblink Real Estate Pvt Ltd took over the project. The agency claimed Bindra was the broker for the deal and was to get ₹40 crore-₹50 crore as brokerage from Sunblink. As part of the deal signed between Merchant, Joy Home Creation and Sunblink Real Estate, the tenancy rights were transferred to Sunblink for consideration of ₹225 crore.

Most of the payments were done in 2010 and around ₹43 crore was to be paid by November this year. The agency claimed that ₹127 crore has been paid to Merchant till date. However, as per the records, payment of ₹60 crore has only been made to Merchant, while the rest was transferred through hawala channels. Referring to the statement of a witness, ED claimed a payment of 90 million Dirham was made to the UAE through hawala, which was then used for purchase of a five-star hotel in Dubai.