NEW DELHI: Former J&K chief minister Mehbooba Mufti, who is under investigation in connection with the J&K Bank scam, has been summoned by the Enforcement Directorate in connection with the case, sources said.
Two-and-half months ago, ED had seized Rs 28 lakh in ‘unexplained’ cash from the premises of a close aide of the former CM, Anjum Fazili.
According to sources, the agency had seized evidence related to J&K bank scam during searches at Fazili’s premises in Srinagar and Delhi in December last year. The probe into the bank revealed irregularities such as sanctioning of huge loans without collaterals to entities that had defaulted and their accounts turned NPAs. Two former chairmen of J&K Bank have been accused of being in league with the political establishment and allegedly appointing people at key positions in the bank to facilitate loan scam. Accounts were opened in J&K Bank in alleged violation of KYC guidelines, using fictitious documents.
Besides Mehbooba Mufti, former J&K CM and National Conference President Farooq Abdullah is also being investigated in the scam. Abdullah, during his tenure as CM, had allegedly opened a “duplicate” account of the J&K Cricket Association in the J&K Bank with his personal authorisation as the then president of JKCA. Later, ED had claimed that its investigations revealed serious charges of loan frauds to the tune of Rs 7 crore against the former CM and some of his close aides.
Searches were carried out at Fazili’s residence in December after ED registered a case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act in the J&K Bank scam. During the searches, the agency had recovered Rs 21.38 lakh from Srinagar and Rs 6.62 lakh from Delhi. Reacting to ED raids on Fazili, Mehbooba had termed the action as “witch-hunt” and that raids were conducted on “anyone and everyone close” to her.
The Anti-Corruption Bureau of J&K has filed chargesheets in the J&K Bank scam in which it has accused two of its former chairmen of several irregularities, including loan frauds and appointments.
During August-September last year, ED had carried out several searches across India and unearthed evidence of loans issued on fictitious documents and to ineligible business groups lacking adequate collaterals. In one case, Rs 250 crore was allegedly sanctioned to a fictitious cooperative housing society in Srinagar.