ED attaches Maha minister Nawab Malik's assets worth several crores

Mumbai: The Enforcement Directorate on Wednesday provisionally attached five properties belonging to Maharashtra Minister Nawab Malik, his family members, and his firms Solidus Investments Pvt. Ltd.

These include the sprawling Goawala Compound, a commercial unit and three flats - all in Kurla suburb, two residential flats in Bandra west, and 148 acres of agricultural land parcels in Osmanabad district.

A senior Nationalist Congress Party leader, Malik is currently in judicial custody following a sensational pre-dawn swoop at his home by the ED in February and subsequent arrest in an alleged money-laundering case arising out of a 20-year-old land deal having mafia connections. Dawood Ibrahim, Haji Anees alias Anees Ibrahim Shaikh, Shakeel Shaikh alias Chhota Shakeel, Javed Patel alias Javed Chikna, Ibrahim Mushtaq Abdul Razzaq Memon alias Tiger Memon were named as accused in the FIR. The FIR also stated that Dawood Ibrahim, after leaving India, started controlling his criminal activities in India through his close associates such as Haseena Parkar alias Haseena Aapa and others.

During investigation, the ED learnt that in one such case, prime property of one Munira Plumber was usurped by Malik through Solidus Investments Pvt. Ltd, a company owned by his family members and controlled by him with active connivance of the members of D-Gang, including Parkar.

For usurping this property, Parkar and Malik connived together and executed several legal documents to put a facade of genuinity for this criminal act.

Money laundering investigation revealed that the property belonging to Plumber and her mother Mariyambai had been illegally taken over by Solidus Investments Private Limited and Parkar, Sardar Shahvali Khan, Salim Patel. "Malik illegally usurped property, proceeds of crime that is a three acre prime land with building, structure etc at Goawala Compound, Kurla (West), Mumbai. The accused illegally transferred the land belonging to Plumber and her mother Goawala by getting it registered on the strength of fake documents in the name of Solidus Investments Private Limited. The said property was thus fraudulently usurped and was Proceeds of Crime," said the ED official.

The official said that rent of Rs 11.70 crore had also been received from this property in two entities controlled by Malik namely Solidus Investments Pvt. Ltd. and Malik Infrastructure. The official said thus this Rs 11.70 crore is also proceeds of the crime.

Accordingly, EDA provisionally attached the properties. Further investigation in the matter is on.