ED produces AAP MLA Amanatullah Khan in Delhi court, seeks 10-day custody

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The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Monday produced Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) legislator Amanatullah Khan before a Delhi court in a money laundering case, hours after his arrest, reported PTI.

The agency requested Special Judge Rakesh Syal for the AAP Member of Legislative Assembly's (MLA) 10-day custody on the grounds that he was required to be confronted with other accused and evidence in the case.

The plea was challenged by the counsel appearing for the accused in the case. The arguments are currently underway.

Khan was taken into custody under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) after the agency conducted a search at his residence located in Okhla, Delhi, earlier in the day.

ED told the court that some questions were put to Khan during the searches but he remained "evasive" about them and hence, they had to arrest him.
The agency also informed the court that Khan was the main accused in the case.

"The proceeds of crime have been used and laundered to buy property. Cash (is) also used. There was an attempt to misguide the agency," ED claimed.

Accusing Khan of non-cooperation, the agency said that 14 summons were issued to him but he appeared only once, that too, after a Supreme Court direction.

The money laundering case stems from two first information reports (FIR): one filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) over alleged irregularities in Wakf Board and another by the Delhi anti-corruption bureau (ACB) in a case of alleged possession of disproportionate assets.

Raids were conducted on Khan's premises on an earlier occasion too. ED claimed that Khan acquired "huge proceeds of crime" in cash through illegal recruitment of staff in the Delhi Waqf Board as chairman during the period 2018-22 and invested the money to purchase immovable assets in the name of his associates.

The agency filed a charge sheet in the case in January and named four people, including Khan's three alleged associates: Zeeshan Haider, Daud Nasir and Jawed Imam Siddiqui.

The 50-year-old legislator joins several other party leaders who were arrested by the federal agency in different money laundering cases, including Chief Minister (CM) Arvind Kejriwal, former Deputy CM Sisodia, Rajya Sabha lawmaker Sanjay Singh and former minister Satyendar Jain. Sisodia and Singh are out of jail on bail.

(With PTI inputs)