The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on October 10, carried out search operations at 13 locations in Delhi connected to Amantullah Khan, a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA), and his associates, in connection with an alleged money laundering case.

During the course of the ED's investigation, it was revealed that Amanatullah Khan had allegedly acquired substantial proceeds of crime through these illicit activities, and these proceeds were in the form of cash. ED further alleged that this cash had been invested in the purchase of various immovable properties in Delhi, registered in the names of his associates.

These raids were conducted under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA).

Meanwhile, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, on October 11, raised concerns about an alleged campaign targeting the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), stating that false cases are being registered against party leaders.

"More than 170 cases have been registered against AAP MLAs and out of the 170 cases, 140 judgements were in our favour. For the last two years, they have started arresting our ministers and senior leaders. They arrested Sanjay Singh and also conducted raids at the residence of Amanatullah Khan," said Kejriwal as reported by ANI.

The searches conducted by ED are part of a larger investigation related to the illegal recruitment of staff in the Delhi Wakf Board and allegations of illegal personal gains through the unfair leasing of Wakf Board Properties. These activities were purportedly carried out during Amantullah Khan's tenure as the Chairman of the Delhi Wakf Board from 2018 to 2022.

The ED's investigation was initiated based on an FIR registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation's (CBI) Anti-Corruption Unit (AC-III) in New Delhi. The FIR included various sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, and the Indian Penal Code, 1860. Additionally, the ED is also looking into three more FIRs registered by the Delhi Police, as the involvement of Amantullah Khan and his associates came to the fore.

According to ED, the search operations yielded significant findings, including incriminating records and evidence in both physical and digital formats. These findings point to the potential involvement of Amantullah Khan, MLA, in the offence of money laundering.

The investigation is still ongoing.

(Edited by : Amrita)