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2022 Supreme(Bom) 1153
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY
H.H. The Special Judge, R.N. Rokade, JJ.
The Directorate Of Enforcement & Ors. - Appellants
Versus
Mohammed Nawab Mohammed Islam & Ors. - Respondents
Pmla Remand Application No. 184 of 2022
Decided On : 23-02-2022
Mr. Anil Singh a/w Ld. SPP Mr. Hiten Venegaonkar a/w ld. Advocate, Mr. Aditya Thakker and SPP, Mr. Gonsalves, for the Appellant; Ld. Sr. Counsel Mr. Amit Desai a/w. Ld. Advocate, Mr. Gopal Shenoy, ld. Advocate, Mr. Taraq Sayed and ld. Advocate, Ms. Bhumika Gada, for the Respondent.
The offence of money laundering under PMLA is continuing in nature and can include various activities connected with the proceeds of crime, and custodial interrogation may be necessary to collect evidence and unearth the ramifications involved in the crime.
Headnote:
Money Laundering - Custody for Investigation - Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 - Section 3, Section 19
Fact of the Case:
The accused, Mohammed Nawab Mohammed Islam Malik, was remanded in the custody of the Enforcement Directorate for investigation under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA) based on allegations of usurping property and involvement in money laundering activities linked to Dawood Ibrahim's criminal network.
Finding of the Court:
The court found that there was prima facie evidence indicating the accused's involvement in money laundering activities as defined under section 3 of the PMLA. The court also noted that custodial interrogation was necessary to unearth the ramifications involved in the crime and collect seized documents related to the proceeds of crime.
Issues: The issues involved the legality of the accused's arrest, the applicability of PMLA to past transactions, and the necessity of custodial interrogation for the investigation.
Ratio Decidendi: The court held that the offence of money laundering is continuing in nature and can include activities such as concealment, possession, acquisition, and use of proceeds of crime. The court also found that there were reasonable grounds to believe that the accusations against the accused were well-founded under PMLA.
Final Decision: The accused, Mohammed Nawab Mohammed Islam Malik, was remanded in the custody of the Enforcement Directorate till 03.03.2022 for further investigation.
ORDER
1. This is a Remand Application filed by Enforcement Directorate for custody of accused Mohammed Nawab Mohammed Islam Malik @ Nawab Malik (hereinafter referred to as 'accused' for the sake of convenience) for the purpose of investigation under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (hereinafter referred as 'PMLA, 2002' for short).
Shorn of superfluities, the prosecution case is as under:
2. A FIR bearing no.RC-01/2022/NIA/MUM, dated 03.02.2022 has been registered by the NIA against Dawood Ibrahim Kaskar @ Dawood Ibrahim, who has been designated as a Global Terrorist by United Nations under United Nations Security Resolution 1267 and also listed under the Fourth Schedule of the UAPA Act, 1967. He runs an international terrorist network namely D-Company, which is involved in various terrorist/criminal syndicate, money laundering, circulation of FICN, unauthorized possession/acquisition of key assets for raising terror funds and is working in active collaboration with international terrorist organization including Laskhar-e-Taiba (LeT), Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) and Al Qaeda (AQ).
3. Dawood Ibrahim after leaving India started controlling his aforementioned criminal activities in India through his close associates such as Haji Anees @ Anees Ibrahim Shaikh, Shakeel Shaikh @ Chhota Shakeel, Javed Patel @ Javed Chikna, Ibrahim Mushtaq Abdul Razzaq Memon @ Tiger Memon, Iqbal Mirchi (deceased), Haseena Parker (deceased) and others.
4. The said D-Company under Dawood Ibrahim Kaskar and his aforementioned associates, has established a special unit for striking terror in the people of India by attacking eminent personalities in India including political leaders, businessmen and others by using explosives/firearms and other lethal weapons and is planning to instigate and trigger incidents which may lead to the onset of violence in various parts of India, including National Capital Region, Mumbai and other major cities in India.
5. In the said FIR by NIA, Dawood Ibrahim Kaskar @ Dawood Bhai, Haji Anees @ Anees Ibrahim Shaikh, Shakeel Shaikh @ Chhota Shakeel, Javed Patel @ Javed Chikna, Ibrahim Mushtaq Abdul Razzaq Memon @ Tiger Memon have been mentioned as named accused.
6. On the basis of said FIR, an ECIR dated 14.02.2022 has been recorded by the Directorate vide ECIR No.ECIR/MBZO-1/10/22.
7. On the basis of FIR No.190/2017 dated 18.09.2017 registered at Kasarvadavli Police Station, Thane, against Iqbal Kaskar, Mumtaz Shaikh and Israr Ali Jamil Sayyed for the offence of extortion, an ECIR No.ECIR/MBZO/1/04/2017 was recorded by Enforcement Directorate on 26.09.2017.
8. On the basis of various FIRs by Mumbai Police, an ECIR was recorded by MBZO-I/08/19 against Iqbal Mirchi and others. In order to cause effective investigation against the "Dawood gang" and their associates as a whole, PMLA case vide No.ECIR/MBZO-1/10/22 against Dawood Ibrahim, ECIR/MBZO-I/04/2017 against Iqbal Kaskar (brother and associate of Dawood Ibrahim) and ECIR/MBZO-I/08/19 against Iqbal Mirchi and others (another associate of Dawood Ibrahim) have been merged and a combined investigation has been initiated in the matter. The present ECIR is a fresh ECIR registered against the accused.
9. During the investigation, Enforcement Directorate conducted search on the premises of associates of Dawood Ibrahim and Chhota Shakeel and various incriminating materials have been seized under section 17 of PMLA. In addition to this, various statements of witnesses have been recorded under section 50 of the PMLA.
10. It is revealed that the accused and Haseena Parker (sister of Dawood Ibrahim) planned to usurp property bearing survey no.336, 336/1 to 25, 338 at village Kurla-1, Mumbai, lawfully belonging to Munira Plumber and her mother. The accused was already occupying 'Kurla General Store' in the said premises. It is further alleged that the accused took control of Solidus Investments Pvt. Ltd. from Patels becoming tenants of the go down/shed in the said property. He
