Money laundering case: ED files charge sheet against Atiq Ahmed’s wife

New Delhi, May 15 (IANS) The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has filed a charge sheet before a court in Lucknow against slain mafia-politician Atiq Ahmed's wife Shaista Parveen under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in a case involving a multi-crore extortion racket.

According to the ED, the court took cognisance of the charge sheet on Tuesday.

The financial probe agency had initiated an investigation based on an FIR registered by the CBI against Atiq Ahmed, who was shot dead on April 15, 2023, and others for criminal offences related to extortion, cheating, forgery, and illegal acquisition of assets.

"Later, the scope of the money laundering investigation was expanded to include several FIRs filed at various police stations for criminal offences related to murder, extortion, cheating, forgery, land grabbing, and crimes of a similar nature,” the ED said in a statement.

During the probe to trace further proceeds of crime acquired by Atiq Ahmed and his associates/family members/relatives, it came to light that Ahmed and his associates invested their ill-gotten money acquired through unlawful activities to purchase immovable properties.

“It was also found that these immovable properties were registered in the names of various other persons/benami holders to avoid detection by government agencies/tax authorities,” it said.

Earlier, the ED attached movable and immovable properties worth Rs 8.14 crore belonging to Ahmed and Shaista Parveen vide a Provisional Attachment Order (PAO) dated December 13, 2021.

The attached properties included land in Phulpur Tehsil in Allahabad registered in the name of Shaista Parveen, and a combined balance of Rs 1.28 crore lying in 10 bank accounts of Ahmed and one bank account of Shaista.

In April and June last year, 27 premises linked to the associates of Ahmed were searched by the ED, which led to the seizure of cash amounting to Rs 1.15 crore, gold/jewellery valued at Rs 6 crore, and numerous other incriminating records.

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