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Properties belonging to Ibrahim Memon, better known as Tiger Memon, and other members of his family, which were confiscated by the Centre, are set to be auctioned under the Smugglers and Foreign Exchange Manipulators (Forfeiture of Property) Act (SAFEMA) in the next few months.
Officials said that 17 properties were confiscated, of which they have taken possession of eight, the process for five is underway, while the remaining properties are under litigation. Once the valuation of those properties in government possession is complete, an auction is likely to take place in the next few months.
In March, a special court in Mumbai had ordered that 14 properties belonging to Tiger Memon be handed over to the Central Government for auction. Property that is acquired illegally and in contravention of the law is forfeited to the Central Government under SAFEMA.
Memon is a key accused in the 1993 Bombay blasts case, and has remained absconding since he fled the country before the explosions. On March 12, 1993, a series of blasts in Bombay (now Mumbai) killed 257 and left 13 injured.
The main conspirators in the case were Ibrahim Tiger Memon and international fugitive gangster Dawood Ibrahim.
The properties belonged to 11 members of the Memon family, including Tiger Memon, his younger brother, Yakub Memon, who was hanged to death in the case in 2015. These properties include the Al Hussaini building in Mahim, where the family had resided and escaped from before the blasts, as well as properties in Kurla, Dongri, and shops at Manish Market in South Mumbai, among others.
Properties jointly owned by Memon and the absconding accused Mohammed Dossa in Manish Market are under dispute.
Under the same Act, previously properties belonging to Dawood Ibrahim have also been confiscated and auctioned in the past.
In 1992, the Maharashtra government initiated proceedings against Memon, allegedly involved in smuggling activities. The following year, SAFEMA ordered the forfeiture of the properties.
In 1994, after Memon and other family members were named as accused in the blasts case, a designated court under the Terrorism and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act (TADA) ordered that their properties be attached under the anti-terror law. A court receiver was appointed as custodian.
This year, SAFEMA approached the TADA court seeking the handing over of the properties, stating that all legal challenges to its forfeiture orders have been disposed of.
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