ED attaches red sanders smuggler Badshah Malik’s assets worth Rs 72.45 crore
Badshah Malik was arrested after 7,800 metric tonnes of red sanders worth Rs 3.2 crore were found in a container at Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust near Mumbai. The export of red sanders is banned in India.
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The accused had allegedly smuggled red sanders in the guise of consignments of fabric glue/radiators/assorted colours by submitting forged documents of the companies situated in special economic zones (SEZs). (File Photo)
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) in Mumbai has provisionally attached red sanders smuggler Badshah Majid Malik, his associate Vijay Subbanna Poojary and others’ immovable properties worth Rs 72.45 crore in a money laundering case.
During its probe into the money laundering aspect of a huge red sanders smuggling case of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) against Malik, the ED found he amassed huge assets through the smuggling trade. The assets have now been attached under provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.
Malik was arrested on December 21, 2021 and has been in judicial custody since then.
On Saturday, the ED said that it started an investigation into Malik based on a prosecution complaint filed by the DRI against him, Poojary and others for offences committed under various sections of the Customs Act, 1962, for smuggling red sanders in 2015.
The accused had allegedly smuggled red sanders under the guise of consignments of fabric glue/radiators/assorted colours by submitting forged documents of companies located in special economic zones (SEZs). In this case, the DRI had arrested Malik and the director of Mumbai-based Emirates Shipping Agencies India Pvt Ltd, after the probe agency intercepted and recovered 7,800 metric tonnes of red sanders worth Rs 3.2 crore from a container at Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust near Mumbai. The export of red sanders is banned in India.
The ED’s money laundering investigation revealed Malik was engaged in smuggling activities from 2008 to 2010 and 2014 to 2015 and through his crimes, allegedly generated proceeds worth Rs 94 crore, the agency stated.
“For the purposes of laundering the proceeds of crime, he established one company by the name of M/s Empire India Multi Trade Pvt Ltd and infused share capital from multiple bogus shell companies in lieu of cash through accommodation entry. Thereafter, a number of immovable properties were purchased by Malik and his associates through this company,” the ED said in a statement.
The central agency had earlier also raided the residence of Malik, Poojary and others on December 20, 2021, leading to various incriminating documents being seized that allegedly described and established his modus operandi in smuggling red sanders.
The agency filed a prosecution complaint against him in 2022 and in February that year, the court took cognisance of the same.
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