The Enforcement Directorate (ED) authorities are conducting raids at 19 places across 4 locations in the Tablighi Jamaat money laundering case. The probe agency is searching at 7 locations in Delhi, 5 in Mumbai, 4 in Hyderabad, and 3 places in Kerala.
The central probe agency is investigating the funds spent by the Jamaat authorities for organising various religious events across the country.
ED is also conducting raids at Delhi-based Tablighi Jamaat's Chief Maulana Saad's residence to collect more evidence on suspected money-laundering activities.
The central probe agency started its investigation in April, under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, on the basis of a first information report (FIR) by Delhi Police Crime Branch. The FIR was registered against the Jamaat chief Maulana Muhammad Saad, and five others on charges of defying nationwide lockdown restrictions.
ED is probing Jamaat’s source of funding along with finances received by Jamaat chief Saad from across the globe. The funds were used for the religious congregation in Delhi and the travel of Jamaat followers from over 20 countries in the world.
The Central government had blamed Jamaat members as initial super-spreaders of the viral outbreak, when around 26,000 of their contacts were quarantined across the country after the Markaz held at Nizamuddin in south Delhi between March 13 and 16 amid the early days of the coronavirus.
The Ministry of Home Affairs had blacklisted over 2,000 foreign Tablighi Jamaat members in June for violating visa rules.
The action was taken by the MHA after various state governments provided details of the foreigners who were found to be illegally living in mosques and religious seminaries across the country.
They allegedly violated visa rules by indulging in religious activities while they were on a tourist visa.
