Mumbai Court Refuses Bail To Nawab Malik In Money Laundering Case

Special Judge RN Rokade pronounced the order.

Malik approached the special PMLA court seeking bail after a charge sheet was filed against him in April, 2022. A minister in the earlier Maha Vikas Aghadi government, Malik was arrested in February this year.

It is the ED's case that Malik connived with D-gang members i.e. Haseena Parker (late), her driver Salim Patel (late) and Sardar Khan (1993 bomb blast convict), and usurped one Munira Plumber's 3 acre ancestral property in Kurla for a pittance despite the ready reckoner rate of the property being Rs 3.54 crore between 2003-05.

According to the agency a power of attorney given by Plumber to Patel and Khan for removing encroachments on her land was misused to sell the property to a company owned by Malik's family.

According to ED's chargesheet against Malik, there were several meetings between Malik, his brother Aslam, Haseena Parkar and 1993 serial blast convict Sardar Khan regarding the Goawala compound in Kurla, which is the alleged subject matter of the laundering.

It is Malik's claim that the property wasn't usurped but legally purchased using the power of attorney as it had a clause by which Patel was allowed to sell it.

According to ED's reply. eyewitness have revealed that Rs 55 lakh was paid illegally to Parkar for the Goawala property and that Malik connived with D Gang members "involved in laundering of illegally usurped property/proceeds of crime under Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act".

ED alleged that Malik controlled the proceeds of crime through Solidus Investments Pvt Ltd, one of the offices on the property. Through a family business, he first became a tenant of Solidus and then purchased the premises.

Earlier, Malik had challenged his remand right up-till the Supreme Court but failed.