ED Seeks Confiscation of Properties Linked to Late Fugitive Gangster Iqbal Mirchi

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has taken a significant step in its ongoing efforts to combat financial crime and seize assets linked to criminal activities. In a recent development, the ED has sought to confiscate properties worth over Rs 700 crore, including 15 properties in Dubai, believed to be proceeds of crime linked with late fugitive gangster Iqbal Memon alias Iqbal Mirchi and his kin.

In 2021, a special court in Mumbai declared Mirchi’s wife and two sons as fugitive economic offenders (FEOs) under the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act. This Act empowers the authorities to seize and confiscate properties linked to such offenders. The ED has filed a plea in court, arguing that properties believed to be proceeds of crime, including those located outside India, should be permitted to be confiscated.

“The proceeds of crime in this case…have been siphoned off to foreign shores by the accused and hence are not available for attachment and confiscation… this court is entitled to order for confiscation of properties attached under Prevention of Money Laundering Act, representing the equivalent value or proceeds of crime parked abroad by accused,” the ED application filed in January states. The FEOs have refused to come to India to join the probe and face trial, and a hearing on the plea is yet to take place.

The list of properties includes three properties in Worli, Mumbai, namely Rabia Mansion, Marium Lodge, and Sea View, totaling nearly 5,000 square meters in size and valued at Rs 497 crore. Additionally, the ED has identified 15 properties in Dubai, including the Hotel Midwest Apartment, with 40% each ownership by Mirchi’s sons, Junaid and Asif, and 20% by his wife, Hajra. These 15 properties, along with 14 other real estate units in Corporate Bay in Dubai and properties in Dec Tower in Dubai Marina, are valued at Rs 203.27 crore. These properties were provisionally attached in 2019.

The three properties in Mumbai were originally owned by the Sir Mohammed Yusuf Trust. In 1991, the Trust officially handed over possession of these properties to Mirchi. When Mirchi was declared a proclaimed offender in 1999 due to his involvement in multiple criminal cases in the city, the Trust claimed that they still owned these properties and sought their release from the attachment process in 2005. The ED alleges that this claim was misleading and intended to deceive the court by asserting that the Trust still had ownership.

Subsequently, through Mirchi’s associate Humayun Merchant, the properties were agreed to be sold to a company linked with Dheeraj Wadhawan, the promoter of Dewan Housing Finance Corporation Limited (DHFL). The accused in the case are currently out on bail, and the trial has yet to begin.

This move by the ED is a significant step in the fight against money laundering and the recovery of assets linked to criminal activities. It underscores the commitment of law enforcement agencies to bring justice and ensure that the proceeds of crime do not benefit those involved in illegal activities.