The Popular Front of India (PFI), banned recently by the government for alleged terrorist links and spreading communal hatred, has a "well-structured and organised" presence in the Gulf countries for raising and mobilising funds, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) said on Monday after a local court took cognisance of its latest charge sheet filed against three PFI office bearers.
The agency had filed the prosecution complaint or charge sheet last week before a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court here.
On Saturday, the ED filed the chargesheet to press money laundering charges and begin trial against Perwez Ahmad, Mohammad Ilias and Abdul Muqueet who were arrested by the agency on September 22 following nation-wide searches against the PFI by the National Investigation Agency (NIA), Enforcement Directorate (ED) and various State police units.
"PFI has a well-structured and organised presence in the Gulf countries for raising and mobilizing funds as part of criminal conspiracy," the ED said in a statement.
It said Ahmad was the president of PFI Delhi unit and he "supervised the fund raising activities of PFI and managed its public relations."
"Md. Ilias, the general secretary of Delhi PFI, was active in mobilisation of funds for PFI and related organisations in the Delhi-NCR region. He also contested Delhi assembly elections of 2020 from Karawal Nagar as an Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) candidate."
"Both Perwez Ahmad and Md. Ilias were arrested by Delhi Police in the case related to North East Delhi riots of February, 2020," the ED said.
Abdul Muqeet, it said, was the office secretary of Delhi PFI and was also "actively" involved in the fund raising activities of PFI and in the preparation of "bogus" cash donation slips, the ED said.
"PFI generated proceeds of crime, both in India and abroad, by way of criminal conspiracy (an offence under section 120B of IPC), in active collusion with its associated individuals and entities as a part of a larger conspiracy to raise funds for its unlawful and anti-national activities, prejudicial to the unity, integrity and security of the state.
"Proceeds of crime mobilised and remitted in the form of cash have been deposited in PFI's bank accounts by falsely projecting them as cash donations from its sympathisers/members," the agency said.
As many as 106 suspects linked to PFI were arrested by the agencies in synchronized pan-India searches in September. At present, the three are under judicial custody in Tihar Jail.
A week after this action, the Centre banned the PFI for five years under the stringent anti-terror law, Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), accusing the Islamic outfit of having "links" with global terror groups such as the ISIS and trying to spread communal hatred in the country.
