The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday, June 30, attached assets of Aijaz Hussain Khawaja under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA). Cracking its whip against the hawala operators, the ED in a statement said that the assets worth Rs 7.32 lakh were attached in a 2006 terror funding case.
The attached assets consist of a portion of a residential flat at Jangpura, New Delhi and balances in the bank account held by the wife of accused Aijaz Hussain Khawaja. The present market value of the attached property is higher.
More terror-related illegal activities in J&K
The ED said that during probe it was revealed that Khawaja was operating as a hawala operator for financing various terror-related illegal activities in J&K.
"Out of such illegal hawala operation, he had generated proceeds of crime to the tune of Rs. 8.50 lakh during that period," it said, adding, "As a hawala operator he was in touch with Muktiar Ahmed Bhat alias Ahmed, a Pakistan based Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) operative in league with Pakistan's Inter Services Intelliegnece (IS) to undertake hawala transactions or dealings for various separatists and militant activities."
Khawaja, a resident of Jammu and Kashmir's Baramulla district, was apprehended with one bag containing 2.05 KG RDX and Rs 49 lakhs in cash by the special cell of the Delhi Police in 2006.
The terror accused was then convicted with a sentence of imprisonment for a period of 7 years under section 5(b) of Explosive Substances Act, 1908 along with Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967. The seized amount was also confiscated by the Trial Court.
