Court dismisses AAP MLA Khan's anticipatory bail plea in Delhi Waqf Board money laundering case

Special Judge Rakesh Syalon Friday dismissed the application of AAP MLA Amanatullah Khan seeking anticipatory bail in a money laundering case related to alleged irregularities by the Delhi Waqf Board in hiring staff and leasing out assets during his chairmanship.

New Delhi:A court here on Friday dismissed the application of AAP MLA Amanatullah Khan seeking anticipatory bail in a money laundering case related to alleged irregularities by the Delhi Waqf Board in hiring staff and leasing out assets during his chairmanship. Special Judge Rakesh Syal denied the relief to Khan, saying there was no reasonable ground for believing that he is not guilty of the offence of money laundering.

"Considering the material available on record and the facts and circumstances of the case, when seen from the standard of broad probabilities, at this stage, there appears to be no reasonable grounds for believing that the applicant is not guilty of the offence under the Act (Prevention of Money Laundering Act) or that he is not likely to commit any offence while on bail. Accordingly, his application under section 438 CrPC for grant of anticipatory bail is dismissed," the judge said.

Khan, the Okhla MLA, was not named as an accused in the charge sheet that the Enforcement Directorate (ED) filed recently. The agency has named five people in its prosecution complaint (the ED's equivalent of a charge sheet) that included three alleged associates of Khan -- Zeeshan Haider, Daud Nasir and Jawed Imam Siddiqui.

The ED, after conducting raids on premises linked to Khan and some others in October, had claimed that the AAP MLA acquired "huge proceeds of crime" in cash from illegal recruitment of staff to the Delhi Waqf Board and invested those for purchasing immovable assets in the name of his associates. The searches were conducted in the case related to illegal recruitment of staff and illegitimate personal gains made by the accused by way of unfairly leasing Waqf Board properties during 2018-2022 when Khan was its chairperson, the ED said.

The money laundering case stems from a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) FIR and three Delhi Police complaints. The ED alleged that Khan "acquired huge proceeds of crime out of the said criminal activities in cash and this cash amount was invested in purchase of various immovable properties in Delhi in the name of his associates".

Several "incriminating" material in the form of physical and digital evidence were seized during the raids, indicating Khan's involvement in the offence of money laundering, the ED said.