Mumbai: A Special Court hearing the case of money laundering by underworld don Dawood Ibrahim’s brother Iqbal Kaskar remanded him to the Enforcement Directorate's (ED) custody till February 24. As claimed by the ED, Kaskar had extorted money from celebrities and builders using his brother's image as a "global terrorist". The ED had sought his remand based on these claims in a money laundering case, which the court granted.
The ED took custody of Kaskar as a requirement of a probe that the agency is currently conducting in regards to the underworld-linked property and hawala deals. The production warrant was issued by the court to the ED as a part of this probe. Before getting remanded, Kaskar was lodged in Thane jail.
Kaskar was placed under arrest under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act after interrogation on Friday and was produced before special judge MG Deshpande by the ED, which sought his custody for further probe into the matter. Special public prosecutor Hiten Venegoakar, who was representing the probe agency, said it was apparent that Kaskar was a prominent member of the gang led by Dawood Ibrahim and was involved along with his associates in activities like threatening, extortion etc. "His interrogation may reveal crucial facts, which are in their exclusive domain, since he is a key conspirator and leader of the syndicate," the ED told the court.
"During the probe, it was found that Kaskar, after being deported to India, started extorting money from various builders and celebrities by pressurising them with the help of his brother's image as a global terrorist," the central agency said. It further informed the court that Kaskar had used his henchmen for this act and collected money on behalf of Dawood Ibrahim.
The ED claimed that it was in possession of evidence to show that Kaskar was regularly receiving substantial proceeds of crime from Dawood Ibrahim, and has received a flat and Rs 90 lakh as extortion money, which are proceeds of crime under the PMLA. Earlier this week, the ED had also raided some 10 locations in Mumbai, including those related to Ibrahim's late sister Haseena Parkar, Kaskar as well as a brother-in-law of gangster Chhota Shakeel. The ED case is based on an FIR filed recently by National Investigation Agency (NIA) against Ibrahim and others under provisions of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA).
