Farooq Abdullah has denied all charges and called the investigation a political vendetta (Archive).
New Delhi:
The Enforcement Directorate attached assets worth 11.86 million rupees from the President of the National Conference, Farooq Abdullah, in connection with the Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association (JKCA) money laundering case, sources said from the agency on Saturday.
The Enforcement Directorate, which investigates financial crimes, is investigating money laundering allegations related to cricket agency J&K. In 2018, the IWC filed a charge sheet against Abdullah, a National Conference deputy and three others, for alleged misappropriation of Rs 43.69 crore between 2002-11.
Sources from the Enforcement Directorate said that the agency issued an interim seizure order under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act and that the attached properties are located in Jammu and Srinagar.
Assets include two residential and one commercial properties and three lots.
While the book value of these attached properties is Rs 11.86 crore, their market value is approximately Rs 60-70 crore, agency officials claimed.
Abdullah, who was questioned twice in Srinagar in the case in October, and his party have linked the investigation to the 83-year-old’s recent move to bring together all parties in Jammu and Kashmir in a campaign to restore special status.
“The letter from the Directorate of Enforcement came after Gupkar’s statement. It is a clear political revenge after the ‘People’s Alliance’ was formed in Kashmir,” said a spokesman for the National Conference.
“We knew it was coming,” the party said, adding that the ruling BJP in the center was using its agencies to fight the new political formation because it “could not fight politically.”
“This is the price one faces when opposing the ideology and divisive politics of the BJP. Recent history witnesses how the BJP has been employing coercive and intimidating measures across various departments to attack opposition leaders. across the country. The ED’s recent summons to Farooq Abdullah is a case in point, “said the National Conference.
Last year, Abdullah was summoned by the agency in July, days before the center’s Aug. 5 move to end Jammu and Kashmir’s special status under Article 370 and divide it into two union territories.
Abdullah, his son Omar Abdullah and his rival-turned-ally Mehbooba Mufti, all former senior ministers, were among dozens of politicians detained at the time.
The Abdullahs, Mehbooba Mufti, Sajjad Lone and others came together on Thursday and formed the “People’s Alliance for the Gupkar Declaration” to fight for the restoration of Article 370 and the “Kashmir resolution.” This was based on the “Gupkar Declaration” signed on August 4, 2019, after an all-party meeting at Abdullah’s home in Srinagar on Gupkar Road. Regional parties and Congress resolved to protect Jammu and Kashmir’s special constitutional status and to fight any move to dilute it. A day later, the center enforced its massive Article 370 decision.
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