ED files chargesheet against PFI leaders

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has filed its first chargesheet against five office bearers of the PFI and its student wing - the CFI.

New Delhi: The money received from Gulf countries by arrested Campus Front in India (CFI) general secretary KA Rauf Sherif was not meant for the mask business during the Covid-19 lockdown or as a commission but was a disguise under which money was being remitted from Popular Front of India (PFI) member Noufal Shareef and others.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has filed its first chargesheet against five office bearers of the PFI and its student wing, the CFI, including Sherif in connection with its money laundering probe in February this year.

The ED chargesheet rubbished the claims of Sherif over the reasons cited by him for receiving Rs 1.36 crore from foreign countries as commission for the face mask and PPE kits supply during the Covid-19 lockdown.

The ED in its chargesheet said, "Transactions with PFI member Noufal Shareef and other individuals based in Oman and Qatar should be seen in the context of a deliberate and planned mechanism to transfer funds to India in the guise of payments or commissions etc. related to international trade and to use such funds in propagating anti-national radical and terrorist ideas and in perpetarating unlawful activities towards the fulfilment of such nefarious goals."

It said that Sherif stated that he received Rs 24.26 lakh from Noufal in 2020-21 as payment for 2,000 boxes of masks ordered by his friend.

The ED claimed that Sherif also stated that these masks were purchased from Jayanmohan who was doing trading under Lizy Trading in Foshan Shinde, China.

The ED said that it also recovered some documents from his pen drive. It said, "As per Sherif's statement, he supplied 2,000 boxes to Noufal whereas in the said document the quantity was mentioned 20,000.

And the price of one box of the mask was six Oman Riyal (which was the quantity as per Sherif) this would work out to 12,000 Oman Riyal. However, in the said document the total price is mentioned as 11,000 Oman Riyal.

Further, for 11,000 Oman Riyal, the per box amount for 20,000 boxes mentioned in the document would be 5.5 Oman Riyal per box and not 6 Oman Riyal as claimed by him."

The ED said that the Sherif in his statement mentioned that for the consignment of 2,000 boxes sent to Noufal from China, he sent him Rs 14 lakh and Rs 10 lakh was sent by Noufal directly to Jayanmohan.

"Later, Sherif said that he was wrong and that he received Rs 17 lakh from Noufal whereas Jayanmohan directly received Rs 7 lakh from Noufal. However, as per the impugned document, out of the total amount of 11,000 Oman Riyal almost the entire amount of 10,586 Oman Riyal was to be transferred to Sherif.

There is no mention of any payment to Jayanmohan or any other person on his behalf," the ED claimed.

The ED said that other documents recovered from the pen drive like delivery orders and Airway bills of consignments of masks from China to Abdulla Hassan Khaja Est. appear to be in his possession as he was associated with Race International LLC and it was around these documents that he weaved the inexplicable story of earning profits and commission for trading of masks.

Sherif was arrested by ED on December 12, last year, when he was trying to flee to Oman.

(IANS)