ED names Shabir Shah’s wife as accused in money laundering case
New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate has made Kashmiri separatist leader Shabir Shah’s wife Bilquis Shah an accused in a 2005 money laundering case against him and reported ‘hawala’ dealer Mohammad Aslam Wani for alleged financing to cause unrest in J&K.
The probe agency named her as an accused in its supplementary charge-sheet filed in the case on Wednesday.
Additional Sessions Judge Dharmender Rana will take up the matter on November 10.
In the charge-sheet filed by ED’s special public prosecutors N K Matta and Rajeev Awasthi, the probe agency said that Bilquis Shah, along with Shabir Shah had received Rs 2.08 crore from Aslam Wani.
It said the claim was based on Wani’s disclosure in the case, where he admitted that “all amounts were in cash and were handed over to Shabir Ahmad Shah and on three occasions to Dr. Bilquis Shah.
The ED said: “She received the said amount knowing fully well that her husband had no known sources of income” and this money could not have been obtained through legal means.
“It clearly implies that Dr. Bilquis Shah was an active accomplice of Shabir Shah in his illicit criminal activities,” it said.
She had spent money in excess of her known sources of income towards her monthly expenses, daughters’ education, maintenance of vehicle and investments in financial instruments, it said, adding that this proves illicit money acquired by them was spent on meeting these expenses and investments.
Shabir Shah and his wife Dr. Bilquis Shah by way of criminal activity related to scheduled offences had acquired a huge sum of money through “Hawala route from Pakistan” and laundered the same by using part of it in acquisition of movable and immovable properties and to meet their lifestyle expenses, it said, terming the properties as proceeds of crime.
The charge-sheet added: “Dr Bilquis Shah is guilty of offence of money laundering as defined in Section 3 of the PMLA, as she was directly or indirectly indulging in and actually involved in all or any process or activity connected with the proceeds of crime including its concealment, possession, acquisition or use and projecting or claiming it as untainted property accordingly Dr Bilquis Shah has also been arrayed as an additional accused in this Supplementary Complaint (ED’s equivalent of a charge-sheet).”
The ED said Shabir Shah was the main accused named in the charge-sheet as he was the conspirator who had devised the whole scheme of money laundering by obtaining illicit funds from outside India to further the nefarious designs of causing unrest in J&K.
“Shabir Ahmad Shah was in regular touch with Hafeez Saeed, head of Jamat-ud-Dawa. He was further in regular touch with Mohammad Shafi Shayar, based in Pakistan, whose Pakistani phone number was provided by him to Aslam Wani for collecting the crime money in Delhi on his behalf.
“Shabir Shah had taken the services of Aslam Wani on a commission basis plus reimbursement of expenses, to collect crime money from Pakistan at Delhi and to carry the same for onward delivery to him or his wife Dr. Bilquis Shah,” it said.
Aslam Wani used to receive hawala money from Pakistan at Delhi and carried the same to Srinagar on the directions of Shabir Shah and in lieu of these services, he was paid money by Shabir Shah, it said.
The charge-sheet has been filed under sections 3 and 4 (money laundering) of Prevention of Money Laundering Act.
The agency had earlier filed charge sheet against Shabir Shah and Aslam Wani.
