THE Enforcement Directorate on Monday arrested AAP MLA Amanatullah Khan as part of a money laundering investigation against him and some others linked to him, official sources said. He was taken into custody under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) after the agency conducted a search at his residence in Okhla area of the national capital that was launched just after 6 am. They said some questions were put to Khan during the searches but he remained “evasive” and hence was arrested. A Delhi court on Monday night remanded Khan to four-day ED custody. The Enforcement Directorate produced Khan before Special Judge Rakesh Syal hours after he was arrested from his home and sought his 10-day custody, stating he was required to be confronted with other accused and evidence in the case.

 

The counsel appearing for Khan challenged his arrest in the case. Reacting to the arrest, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) said the more the BJP tries to suppress us, the more vocal we will be. A security team of the CRPF and Delhi Police was present inside and outside Khan’s house during the action. A purported video showed Khan sitting on a bed near his mother-in-law, who he said, had recently undergone a surgery. The money laundering case against the 50-year-old legislator stems from two FIRs, one by the CBI in the Waqf Board related alleged irregularities and another by the Delhi ACB related to an case of alleged possession of disproportionate assets. Sources claimed Khan evaded at least 10 ED summons since he was last questioned by the agency in this case in April.

 

He kept deferring the summons on one pretext or the another like a pending law exam or the medical condition of his mother-in-law, the sources said. The ED, which conducted raids on his premises earlier too, has claimed Khan acquired “huge proceeds of crime” in cash through illegal recruitment of staff in the Delhi Waqf Board and invested those to purchase immovable assets in the name of his associates. The agency had alleged in a statement that “illegal recruitment” of staff took place in the Waqf Board and “illegal personal gains” were made by unfairly leasing the Waqf Board properties during Khan's chairmanship (2018-2022).