Delhi court orders money laundering charges against Yasin Malik, six others in hawala-funding case

A special court in Delhi has directed that money laundering charges be framed against Yasin Malik, the jailed head of the banned Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF), and six other accused, allowing the case to move to the trial stage.

Special Judge Prashant Sharma of the Patiala House Courts, in an order dated September 9, recorded that there was "prima facie strong suspicion" against the accused and directed that charges be framed under Section 3 (offence of money laundering) and Section 4 (punishment for money laundering) of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

The other accused named in the order are Zahoor Ahmed Shah Watali, Abdul Rashid Sheikh (also known as Engineer Rashid), Shabir Ahmad Shah, Naval Kishore Kapoor, Masarat Alam Bhat and M/s Trison Farms and Constructions Pvt. Ltd.

According to the Enforcement Directorate (ED), which is investigating the matter, funds were routed from Pakistan through hawala channels and used to advance a secessionist agenda and carry out subversive activities. These are the agency's allegations and have not been established in court.

The accused could not be produced physically before the court when the charges were to be formally framed, with officials citing security reasons. The court has asked the ED to have the charges signed by the accused in the jails where they are lodged. The matter is listed for further proceedings on October 30.

The ED's case arises out of a First Information Report registered by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in 2017, which invoked offences including criminal conspiracy under the Indian Penal Code and provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. Under the PMLA, an ED investigation follows from such a scheduled offence investigated by another agency. Section 3 of the Act defines money laundering as the concealment or projection of the proceeds of crime as untainted property, while Section 4 provides for imprisonment of three to seven years and a fine on conviction.

Framing of charges is a stage at which a court records that there is sufficient material to proceed against an accused. It is not a finding of guilt. The accused retain the right to contest the allegations during trial and are presumed innocent unless convicted.

Yasin Malik has led the JKLF, which was declared an unlawful association under the UAPA. He was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment by a special NIA court in Delhi in 2022 in a separate terror-funding case. Abdul Rashid Sheikh is a sitting Lok Sabha member from Baramulla in Jammu and Kashmir. The allegations against all the accused in the present case will be tested during trial, where the ED will be required to prove its case.