Dawood Ibrahim not our citizen, says Dominica govt

Underworld operative Dawood Ibrahim, widely believed to be living in Pakistan, is wanted in India for his role in the multiple bomb attacks in Mumbai, which killed scores of people in 1993.

New Delhi: The government of Dominica has said that underworld don and India's most wanted terrorist Dawood Ibrahim has never been a citizen of the Caribbean island.

"Dawood Ibrahim Kaskar is not, nor has he ever been, a citizen of the Commonwealth of Dominica, neither through the Citizenship by Investment Program nor any other means. As such, any publication by any media or by any person purporting otherwise is strictly false," said the Dominican government in a statement.

"It has long been the responsibility of the Citizenship by Investment Unit to safeguard the integrity of the Citizenship by Investment Programme through the use of sophisticated due diligence and vetting procedures. The Citizenship by Investment Unit applies a multi-tiered system of due diligence, involving both internal and external checks by reputable, top-tier, international due diligence firms based in the United States and the United Kingdom," it said.

The statement added, "These external firms perform thorough checks, including on-the-ground research, to produce exhaustive due diligence reports. In this way, Dominica maintains a firm commitment to professional ethics and ensuring the safety of Dominican citizens."

Dawood Ibrahim is wanted in India to face the law of the land for carrying out serial blasts in Mumbai in 1993, in which scores of people were killed and injured. India has asked Pakistan several times to hand over Dawood Ibrahim.

Pakistan has been denying that it has sheltered Dawood Ibrahim. However, a Pakistan government document recently revealed Dawood Ibrahim's location that was related to a list of 88 terrorists sanctioned by Islamabad. His address on the document is White House, Karachi.

The development comes ahead of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) plenary meet in October, which will review whether Pakistan would be blacklisted if steps are not taken in curbing terror financing on its soil. The country has been repeatedly asked to take action against terror funding and is been on the FATF grey list since June 2018.

(With inputs from ANI)