NIA officers raid a PFI-linked property in Chennai (File)
The banned group Popular Front of India (PFI) raised substantial funds through its thousands of active members in Gulf nations and elsewhere in a well-organised and structured manner, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has said.
The PFI was banned by the Centre over its alleged links with terror activities and groups like the ISIS.
The ED had arrested five PFI members from Delhi's Tihar jail over alleged money laundering. The five have been in jail in another terror case being handled by the National Investigation Agency (NIA).
The five accused - AS Ismail, Mohammad Shakif, Anis Ahmed, Afsar Paasha, and EM Abdul Rahiman - collected funds from donors, hawala and even banking channels to use for "unlawful" activities, the ED said.
The ED in a disclosure has given a detailed account of the five accused's roles in the PFI. Here's a summary of the details:
EM Abdul Rahiman: He has been with the PFI from the beginning and has held different positions in the PFI in the past several years, He has played an important role in every major action and decision taken by the PFI. Abdul Rahiman was also associated with the banned Students' Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) from 1979 to 1984. After SIMI was banned, he joined the PFI.
Anis Ahmed: Anis Ahmed played a key role in handling the PFI's finances as his main task was to collect money for the group. He also served as PFI spokesperson. PFI would deposit the money collected from every district into the account of its so-called national committee. The funds were mostly collected from Delhi and Uttar Pradesh.
Afsar Paasha: He held many positions at the national level in PFI. He was the zonal chief of the PFI in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. His opinion on every financial matter of the PFI was important. From 2009 to 2010, he was the general secretary of the PFI Karnataka unit. He allegedly played a role in the Mysuru communal riots in 2009. He was the PFI's signing authority in its account in Corporation Bank - now known as Union Bank of India - in Bengaluru's Frazer Town.
AS Ismail: He is one of the founder-members of the PFI. He had been president of the PFI's north zone from 2018 to 2020. He, too, played a key role in taking financial decisions for the PFI. He was the signing authority of the PFI's account at Punjab National Bank in Chennai's Mylapore Road.
Mohammad Shakif: He held key posts in the PFI in Karnataka. He was the state president of the PFI in the southern state from 2016 to 2020, and a member of the national executive council. He also had the signing authority in Corporation Bank in Bengaluru's Frazer Town.