Senior lawyer Amit Desai began presenting arguments in a special court in Mumbai under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, on favor of former Maharashtra cabinet minister Nawab Malik. Malik has been accused of working with the criminal underworld to illegally hold a large property in Mumbai’s Kurla area.
It is alleged in Malik’s chargesheet that the former minister paid Dawood Ibrahim’s sister, Haseena Parkar, an underworld don through her driver Salim Patel for the plot of land. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has accused him of money laundering based on a predicate offence that was perpetrated against Dawood and his goons. The ED has been relying on the testimony of Munira Patel, the original owner of the property that Malik is accused of annexing. The woman allegedly used to get rent from persons residing on the premises, according to the case. Malik is accused of taking control of the property and beginning to collect rent.
Desai claimed on Friday that there was dispute on who was the owner—Munira or Salim Patel—since Patel was the one who signed the sale deed with Malik as the buyer.
‘What is not in dispute is that the prosecution is based on the statement of Munira given to the ED in 2022. Salim Patel, who claimed ownership of property pursuant to the doc of 1999, is dead. Therefore, we don’t have any version on his part in the situation,’ Desai said.
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