NEW DELHI, Dec 4: The Enforcement Directorate has moved a Mumbai court to get three family members of late gangster Iqbal Mirchi declared as fugitive economic offenders followed by confiscation of their assets, the agency said on Friday.
It said an application has been filed under section 4 (read with) section 12 of the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act of 2018 before the court “with a prayer to declare Junaid Iqbal Memon, Asif Iqbal Memon (sons of Mirchi) and Hajra Memon (wife) as fugitive economic offenders”.
The central probe agency said in a statement that the application also seeks confiscation of their assets as envisaged under the law.
“In the first phase, prayer has been made for confiscation of 15 Indian properties including the 3rd and 4th floor of Ceejay House (in Mumbai) having market value of about Rs 96 crore and six bank accounts having balance of Rs 1.9 crore.”
“Prayer has also been made for allowing ED to file supplementary applications under the fugitive economic offenders law,” it said.
Under the FEO Act, a person can be declared a fugitive economic offender if a warrant has been issued against him for an offence involving an amount of Rs 100 crore or more and he has left the country and refuses to return.
Businessmen Vijay Mallya, Nirav Modi and four promoters/directors of Gujarat-based Sterling Biotech company, facing similar money laundering charges, have been declared fugitive economic offenders in the past on the basis of investigations done by the ED.
The ED has filed a money laundering case against Mirchi, who died at the age of 63 in London in 2013, his family and others last year after studying multiple Mumbai Police FIRs lodged against them.
The agency had alleged Mirchi “indirectly owned various properties in and around Mumbai”.
It has filed a criminal case against Mirchi and those linked to him to probe money laundering charges linked to their alleged illegal dealings in the purchase and sale of costly real estate assets in Mumbai.
Mirchi was alleged to be the right-hand man of global terrorist Dawood Ibrahim in drug trafficking and extortion crimes.
Properties worth about Rs 798 crore have been attached by the agency till now in this case.
An open ended non-bailable warrant has also been issued by a special PMLA court in Mumbai against the three family members of Mirchi after a charge sheet was filed against them by the ED.
The three are stated to be based abroad and have evaded ED’s summons and the court-issued warrants. (PTI)
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