The Adjudication Authority under Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) has held controversial Kashmiri businessman Zahoor Ahmed Shah Watali guilty for contraventions of provisions of FEMA and thereby imposed penalty to the extent of Rs 62 lakh in a case of operating non-resident savings accounts in HSBC Bank at New Delhi in unauthorised manner.

Investigation under FEMA was initiated against Watali  on the basis of information of certain suspicious foreign exchange transactions. During investigation, it was revealed that that Watali was maintaining Non-Resident Saving Accounts (both NRE and NRO accounts) in HSBC Bank, Greater Kailash-I in the national capital.

At the time of opening these accounts, Watali had submitted documents like. the copy of the Passport issued at Washington DC, resident visa among others claiming himself as a Non-Resident Indian, whereas  during this period he neither remained outside India for more than 182 days in the preceding financial year nor was his intention to remain outside India for an uncertain period. During the period 2003 to 2009, Watali received inward remittances to the tune of Rs . 62,93,711.

He continued holding of the accounts and allowed remittances in this account and violated the provisions of FEMA, 1999 and Regulation of the Foreign Exchange Management (Deposit) Regulation, 2000. 

Earlier, in another PMLA terror funding case, Hafiz Sayeed (Founder of Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jamaat-Ud-Dawa) and Mohammad Yusuf Shah alias Salahuddin (Head of terror group Hizb-ul-Mujahideen) property worth Rs 8.94 crore of Watali, was attached for his involvement in fund raising and as a financial conduit for Hurriyat leaders.

Watali along with other nine accused are undergoing judicial custody at Central Jail, Tihar in connection with the terror funding probe.