This Article is From Aug 23, 2015

Kashmiri Separatist Shabir Shah Summoned in Money Laundering Case

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All India

Separatist leader Shabir Ahmed Shah was detained on his arrival in New Delhi on Saturday

New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate has issued fresh summons to Kashmiri separatist Shabir Shah, currently in Delhi, for questioning in connection with a decade-old case related to alleged terror financing through a "hawala channel".

The case relates to August 2005, when the Delhi Police's special cell arrested Mohammed Aslam Wani, an alleged hawala dealer, who had claimed that he had passed on Rs 2.25 crore to Mr Shah, Chairman of Democratic Freedom Party of Jammu and Kashmir.

This is the third attempt by the agency to serve summons on Mr Shah, who was detained by the Delhi Police yesterday when he landed in New Delhi to meet Pakistani National Security Adviser (NSA) Sartaj Aziz in prelude to the now cancelled NSA-level talks, sources said.

Mr Shah has been summoned at the Delhi zonal office of the agency this week, sources said.

The Kashmiri separatist had in the past told the Press Trust of India that the case was "politically motivated".

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Mohammed Aslam Wani, who is currently out on bail, has also been summoned by the agency, which registered a case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) against him and Mr Shah.

Mr Wani, 35, was arrested allegedly with Rs 63 lakh received through 'hawala' channels from the Middle East and a large amount of ammunition in August, 2005.

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During questioning, Mr Wani had claimed that Rs 50 lakh were to be delivered to Shabir Shah and Rs 10 lakh to the Jaish-e-Mohammad 'area commander' in Srinagar Abu Baqar, while the rest of the money was to be his commission.

He also claimed that he had delivered about Rs 2.25 crore to Mr Shah and his family in several instalments over the past year.

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Mr Wani, who hails from Srinagar, came in contact with the Kashmiri separatist early in 2004, police said.

According to sources, Mr Shah had allegedly asked Mr Wani to channel 'hawala' money to him from Delhi for which he was paid three per cent as commission.

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Mr Shah had also allegedly given the Kashmiri separatist the phone number of one Saifi based in Muzaffarabad in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) who gave him instructions to collect the money.

In March 2005, the hawala trader had come in contact with one Abu Baqar who had directed him to collect a consignment of explosives, arms and ammunition from Delhi, the sources said.

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Mr Wani was arrested along with 5 kg RDX, 10 detonators and a foreign-made pistol with 15 live cartridges from an apartment in East of Kailash in south Delhi.
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