The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday carried out searches at 24 locations in poll-bound Maharashtra and neighbouring Gujarat as part of a money-laundering probe into a Malegaon-based trader who allegedly misused bank accounts for electoral malpractice. The central agency carried out the searches at premises linked to the trader and shell companies in Thane, Vashi, Malegaon and Nashik in Maharashtra, and Surat and Ahmedabad in Gujarat under provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The case involves money laundering of Rs 125 crore. Agency sources said that the case is related to the opening of multiple bank accounts in Malegaon by one Siraj Ahmed Harun Memon, a trader who owns a tea and cold drink agency. The ED’s action is based on a First Information Report (FIR) registered by the Malegaon police on November 7 against Memon on the complaint of a local youth, Jayesh Misal, and 11 others. Memon was booked and later arrested. With Maharashtra set to vote on November 20, it was alleged that Memon was utilising bank accounts for routing funds meant for elections. Memon had allegedly opened bank accounts in the Nasik Merchants Cooperative Bank based on the KYC documents of several people under the pretext of starting a new business in which he was required to send money to farmers. According to the FIR registered by the Malegaon Chhavani police, complainant Misal told the police that Memon convinced them to open bank accounts for agricultural business purposes. In lieu, he offered to give him work at the Agricultural Produce Market Committee. Like Misal, Memon also opened bank accounts of 11 others in the bank. Later, Misal discovered that crores of rupees were deposited in his account and diverted to other accounts, the FIR states. Shocked, he and other account holders went to the bank but the staff there allegedly did not help them. They then told the police that their accounts were allegedly misused by Siraj for illegal money transactions, states the FIR. Over a dozen bank accounts were opened in the past two months. When the ED obtained the transaction details of these accounts, it was found to be around 125 crore. The anti-money laundering agency suspects Memon may be misusing the bank accounts and banking system for routing money for some individuals. The agency is also looking into allegations that the money will be used for electoral purposes. So far, no political leader’s name has cropped up directly in the investigation. On Thursday morning, BJP leader Kirit Somaiya termed the matter as a ‘Vote Jihad Funding’ Scam, alleging that the money from these benami bank accounts was withdrawn for misuse during the election. Somaiya also claimed that he met the Malegaon police regarding the alleged scam. “24 benami bank accounts of accused Siraj Mohammad at Malegaon Nashik Merchant Bank & Bank of Maharashtra. Investigations by Police, ED, Income Tax, RBI, CEC,” he shared in a post on X.
