National Conference (NC) president and former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Farooq Abdullah has been summoned by the ED for questioning in a money laundering case in Delhi on May 31, official sources said on Friday. The questioning is reported to be in connection with a case of alleged financial irregularities in the Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association (JKCA) that is being probed by the federal agency.
The summon has been issued under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) for appearance at the Enforcement Directorate headquarters in Delhi on May 31. Reacting to the summons, his party said Abdullah, a Lok Sabha MP from Srinagar, will continue to cooperate with authorities like in the past.
“ED summons to JKNC President Dr Farooq Abdullah nothing new, this is common for all opposition parties in India. He has continued to maintain his innocence in the matter and has cooperated with the investigative agencies and will do so in this case as well,” the party posted on Twitter. The agency had in 2020 attached assets worth Rs 11.86 crore of Abdullah in this case. The 84-year-old NC patron has been questioned by the ED a number of times in the case.
Abdullah had then challenged the December 2020 order before Jammu and Kashmir high court. The ED had alleged that Abdullah “misused” his position as president of the Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association (JKCA) from 2001-2011 and made appointments in the sports body so Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) sponsored funds could be laundered.
The ED had alleged that Abdullah “misused” his position as the president of the JKCA in the past and made appointments in the sports body so that the BCCI sponsored funds could be laundered.
Abdullah had earlier said the list of properties attached by the ED in Jammu and Kashmir were unrelated to the alleged criminal activity mentioned in the Final Report/FIR and termed it a “continuing violation of his fundamental rights”.
According to party MP Hasnain Masoodi, the properties were either ancestral or acquired before the alleged offence took place and were therefore not involved in any money-laundering or related criminal activity.
