ED registers PMLA case against Azamgarh-origin Islamic preacher
New Delhi, Dec 26: An Azamgarh-origin Islamic preacher currently residing in the United Kingdom, Maulana Shamsul Huda Khan, has come under…
Image: MYind.net
New Delhi, Dec 26: An Azamgarh-origin Islamic preacher currently residing in the United Kingdom, Maulana Shamsul Huda Khan, has come under the scanner of the Enforcement Directorate (ED). According to reports, the ED has registered a money laundering case against him.
The action has been initiated on the basis of an FIR lodged earlier by the Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS). Sources said the ED has begun an investigation against Khan under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
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He is accused of promoting extremist ideology and allegedly channelling illegal funds under the guise of religious education.
Records show that Shamsul Huda Khan was appointed as an assistant teacher in a government-aided madrasa in Azamgarh in 1984. He acquired British citizenship in 2013, but continued to draw salary in India between 2013 and 2017. During this period, he was reportedly delivering religious sermons in the UK.
Investigating agencies claim that Khan travelled to several countries, including Pakistan, and allegedly routed crores of rupees through seven to eight bank accounts operating in India.
The ED has alleged that he purchased more than a dozen immovable properties worth over ₹30 crore. It is also alleged that he funded several madrasas through an NGO named Raja Foundation and through his personal bank accounts.
Two madrasas established by Shamsul Huda Khan in Azamgarh and Sant Kabir Nagar have since had their recognition cancelled. Agencies have indicated possible links between Khan and the Pakistan-based extremist organisation Dawat-e-Islami.
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Videos and photographs purportedly showing Khan attending Dawat-e-Islami meetings in multiple countries had earlier gone viral on social media. In one such meeting held in Pretoria, South Africa, slogans supporting “Free Kashmir” were allegedly raised.
On December 25, it emerged that several officials were allegedly involved in ensuring that Khan illegally received salary, medical leave benefits and eventually voluntary retirement scheme (VRS) benefits. Following the revelation, the Uttar Pradesh government suspended four senior officials of the Minority Welfare Department.
Cases have been registered against Shamsul Huda Khan under Section 318(4) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) for fraud, as well as under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA), 1999. The ED is now probing his funding network, foreign links and assets.
