ED questions Farooq Abdullah in JKCA money laundering case
New Delhi, Jul 31: The ED on Wednesday questioned former chief minister Farooq Abdullah in connection with a money laundering case related to alleged financial irregularities in the state’s cricket association, officials said.
They said Abdullah appeared before the central agency at its Chandigarh office and his statement was being recorded under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) had filed the money laundering case after taking cognisance of a CBI FIR and charge-sheet.
The charge-sheet was filed in July last year against Abdullah and three others for allegedly misappropriating over Rs 43 crore from grants given by the Board of Control for Cricket in India to the Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association (JKCA) for promoting the sport in the state between 2002-11.
The CBI has charged Abdullah and three others — the then JKCA general secretary Mohammad Saleem Khan, the then treasurer Ahsan Ahmad Mirza, and J&K Bank executive Bashir Ahmad Misgar — under sections of the Ranbir Penal Code related to criminal conspiracy and criminal breach of trust.
It had taken over the case from the state police in 2015 on orders of a division bench of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court.
Abdullah and his son Omar Abdullah have earlier denied any wrongdoing.
I have done no wrong, says Farooq on ED questioning
Srinagar, Jul 31: National Conference president Farooq Abdullah Wednesday asserted he had “done no wrong” and was open to scrutiny after being questioned by the Enforcement Directorate in a money laundering case related to alleged financial irregularities in the Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association.
Abdullah, a former chief minister, appeared before the central agency at its Chandigarh office and his statement was recorded under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.
“I have done no wrong. I am open to investigation,” Abdullah was quoted as saying by PTI over phone after his questioning by the ED.
The ED had filed the money laundering case after taking cognisance of a CBI FIR and charge-sheet.
The charge-sheet was filed in July last year against Abdullah and three others for allegedly misappropriating over Rs 43 crore from grants given by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to the Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association (JKCA) for promoting the sport in the state between 2002-11.
Abdullah, the Lok Sabha member from Srinagar, said it was not the job of the president of the JKCA to keep a track of how the funds received from BCCI were spent.
“I have recorded my statement today. The matter is sub-judice and I have full faith in the judiciary of the country,” Abdullah said.
