New Delhi: In a major turn of events, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) today arrested Aam Aadmi Party MLA Amanatullah Khan over charges of money laundering. ED officials arrived at Khan’s residence to conduct a raid as part of its investigation linked to him and others.
He was taken into custody under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) following a search conducted by the agency at his residence in the Okhla area of the national capital, which began shortly after 6 a.m. During the search, Khan was questioned but reportedly provided evasive answers, leading to his arrest.
The arrest has again stirred up the political slugfest in Delhi as the ruling AAP hit out at the Centre, calling it “Modi’s dictatorship”. Party MP Sanjay Singh said the arrest had been made “without any evidence”.
What is the case against Amanatullah Khan?
- The Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) first registered a case in 2022 regarding the Waqf Board scam.
- Amanatullah served as the chairman of the Delhi Waqf Board from 2018 to 2022. It is alleged that during his tenure, 32 recruitments were made. The ACB investigation revealed that out of these 32 individuals, 5 were relatives and 22 were residents of Okhla.
- These appointments were allegedly done in violation of government rules. The then CEO issued a memorandum against these illegal recruitments. It was also alleged that Khan illegally rented out several properties of the board.
- The FIR alleged that the board’s funds were being misused. In 2020, the Revenue Department issued a letter stating that under Section 14(1) of the Waqf Act 1995, Khan was no longer a member or chairman of the Waqf Board.
- Following this, the CBI registered a separate case based on the ACB’s FIR in the Waqf Board scam. The CBI registered an FIR against Amanatullah and 11 others and filed a chargesheet on August 21, 2022.
- In September 2022, the ACB questioned Amanatullah. During this period, the ED became involved in the case and registered a case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
- In January of this year, the ED filed a 5,000-page chargesheet, accusing Javed, Dawood, Kausar, and Zeeshan. Additionally, the partnership firm Sky Power was also accused.
- The ED claimed that Amanatullah used illegally acquired property to buy and sell land.
- During the ACB raid, a diary belonging to the accused Kausar mentioned an entry of eight crore rupees and alleged that Amanatullah was involved in money laundering.
- During the same raid, 2.4 million rupees in cash and weapons were recovered from the premises of Amanat’s associates, leading to Khan’s arrest. However, he was granted bail on December 28, 2022.
- In the Delhi Waqf Board money laundering case, the court issued a notice to the ED on the anticipatory bail application of AAP MLA Amanatullah Khan.