Mumbai: ED files charge sheet against Red Sanders smuggler, others

The Enforcement Directorate has filed a charge sheet before a Mumbai court in connection with its money laundering probe linked to a Red Sanders smuggling case.

New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate has filed a charge sheet before a Mumbai court in connection with its money laundering probe linked to a Red Sanders smuggling case. The charge sheet was filed in a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court in Mumbai on February 15 against four people, including Badshah Majid Malik, the alleged kingpin, it said in a statement. The court took its cognisance of February 18, it said.

Malik was arrested by the ED in December last year after the agency carried out raids at his premises in Mumbai and neighbouring Thane district. "Malik and others had laundered the proceeds of crime generated by his illegal activities in the guise of share subscription premium in one company that had been incorporated by him and his associates." "The money so laundered was subsequently transferred to the accounts of the promoters of the company, including Malik and was used for purchasing properties, luxury cars and paying off loans," the ED said.

The agency filed a money laundering case against the accused on the basis of a charge sheet filed by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) against Malik and others in 2015 as part of a case relating to seizure of Red Sanders amounting to Rs 3.16 crore. Subsequent investigations by DRI had established that Badshah Majid Malik was the kingpin of the syndicate involved in the smuggling of Red Sanders, it said. Red Sanders is listed in Appendix II of the CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) and its export from India is restricted as per the country's foreign trade policy.

PTI