Money laundering of Rs 15 cr, including Rs 11 cr taken as rent from Goawala compound tenants for 14 yrs: ED

In its chargesheet filed against Malik and three others, the ED also said that in 2003, the minister acquired Solidus Investments – a company owned by a tenant – by ‘misguiding’ him about a project to provide accommodation to poor slum residents of Kurla at the compound, the property at the centre of the case.

Last month, the ED had filed a chargesheet against four, including Malik and two companies linked to him – Solidus Investments and Malik Infrastructure. A special court took the cognizance of the chargesheet on Friday, observing that there are sufficient grounds to proceed against the accused.

The ED has alleged that the ownership of Goawala compound was usurped from its rightful owner – a person named Munira Plumber – in criminal conspiracy with fugitive gangster Dawood Ibrahim’s sister Haseena Parkar and her associate Salim Patel.

The central agency has included in his chargesheet the statement of a former employee of the previous owner of Solidus, who had met Malik in 2002-2003 when he was a minister in the Maharashtra government.

“On being asked about the meeting with Nawab Malik, he (employee) stated that in a meeting of about 30 minutes, Nawab Malik, then minister, explained his proposed public service to the poor people of Kurla living in jhopadpatti or hutments…,” the chargesheet stated.
It added that Malik proposed to take complete ownership of the warehouse premises at Goawala compound to shift 360 families living in hutments, which were in the way of two proposed infrastructure projects in the area.

The ED said Malik sought the help of the Solidus owner by stating that it was in national interest and that he was planning to give the warehouses to the government on lease at Re 1 per annum till the infrastructure project is completed. Thereafter, an SRA project would come up on the remaining land. After resettlement of the hutments, Malik was planning to use the premises for his family business, the chargesheet stated.

In 2003, Solidus was taken over by Malik’s family members for Rs 10 lakh from Salim Patel, as the owner was impressed with the idea proposed by Malik for a good cause, the employee has said in his statement. He added that Malik’s father, Mohammed Islam — who knew Patel through their business in steel scrap — had introduced them.

The ED has further claimed that Solidus collected rents from tenants occupying the compound till 2010-2011 and thereafter, Malik Infrastructures was formed. It entered into a lease agreement with Solidus for the collection of rent, repair and maintenance of the premises and a rent of Rs 11.7 crore was collected from the tenants by the firms. The ED alleged that the proceeds of crime were layered through the lease agreement between the two companies.

Malik’s family members, including his two sons and wife, were named directors in the companies. The ED has said that it summoned them 10 times between February and April for probe but they remained unavailable. The agency has said that a prosecution complaint will be filed after ascertaining their role in the case.

The ED has arrived at the figure of Rs 15.99 crore by alleging that while the registry value of the property was proposed to be Rs 3.53 crore, Rs 15 lakh were paid to Salim Patel, Rs 5 lakh to Sardar Khan – a convict in the 1993 serial blasts case and also a co-accused in this case – and Rs 55 lakh to Parkar, along with the collection of Rs 11.7 crore as rent.

The ED also alleged that while the registry value of the property was said to be Rs 3.53 crore, its value was approximately Rs 11 crore in 2005 when it was bought by Malik. His lawyers have denied wrongdoing by the minister claiming that the sale of property was legal.