Guwahati: The Popular Front of India (PFI), which the central government has banned for five years, reportedly has “thousands of active members in Gulf countries,” according to damning documents obtained during search operations at the organization’s offices and the homes of its office bearers. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) have received information indicating that “the PFI has been generating and collecting large sums from abroad in a carefully coordinated and systematic manner.”
The Central Agencies also learned that “PFI was raising monies abroad and transferring them to India through clandestine and illegal means.”
PFI has insisted that it is their “established policy not to accept foreign donations for its activities” as an organisation.
However, one of the PFI suspects, K. A. Rauf Sherif, also supported the claim that money was illegally collected by PFI abroad and remitted to India in his comments made to the ED.
The ED stated in a remand copy of one of the arrested PFI cadres that it is “clear that funds obtained by PFI overseas are remitted through members, activists, office bearers of PFI/CFI and other connected organisations.” However, these foreign funds are not reflected in the bank accounts of PFI.
“Funds received from overseas are concealed from the Government authorities and statutory compliance for collection of funds abroad and their remittance to India have not been done by PFI and its related organizations as they are not registered under the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA), 1976,” the remand copy mentions.
According to the document provided to a special court, “suspicious funds from within and outside the country have been raised by PFI and related entities and have been clandestinely remitted to India in a concealed manner and deposited in their bank accounts over the years” as part of the “criminal conspiracy hatched by PFI office bearers over the past many years.”
“These monies were raised in connection with the scheduled criminal conspiracy offence. Thus, the money that PFI has garnered or amassed is only the proceeds of crime that they have layered, positioned, and integrated through their multiple bank accounts as well as those of their supporters and members. Therefore, over the years, PFI and its affiliated businesses have been complicit in the ongoing crime of money laundering.
The investigators also learned that PFI cadres and others connected to the group frequently visited local mosques to solicit money from “namaazis.”
They used to collect donations throughout Ramadan or Ramadan, but according to sources in the agencies, the majority of the donations on the list of monetary donations submitted by PFI were for days that weren’t covered throughout the Ramadan season.
According to another remand copy of Abdul Muqeet, the Office Secretary of the Delhi state unit of PFI and one of the accused in the case, “The PFI members used to issue a receipt for the total amount collected to the concerned Imam of the mosque and deposited the collection with office bearers in the particular state. However, during the course of the investigation, at a later stage, the “bogus nature of cash donations was revealed.”
The agencies discovered that incomplete information was provided in regard to a number of donations when looking into phoney bank transactions and cash payments.
For example, it was challenging to track down the donors and confirm their contributions because the donor’s name and address were either blank or partial.
In its investigation of Abdul Muqeet, the ED has definitely mentioned such donations.
“During the course of recording of his (Muqeet) statement under Section 50 of Prevention of Money Laundering Act, he stated that they (persons associated with PFI) used to go to mosques, in nearby areas to collect donations from the namaazis,” mentions the ED remand copy against Muqeet.
The agencies also found complete details shared in respect of several residents of particular colonies.
“Statements of several such individuals were recorded to verify the credit worthiness and identity of the donors and the genuineness of transactions. The individuals categorically denied any association with PFI or SDPI and stated that they neither made any donation to PFI nor did they have the financial capacity to do so,” informed sources in agencies.
Investigation into several PFI bank accounts similarly showed that “identical sums of cash were immediately deposited in the bank accounts of the accused sympathisers prior to multiple bank transfers in order to project the funds received in PFI’s accounts as legitimate payments.”
“When these people were checked out, it turned out that their financial situation did not support such contributions. Many of them were unaware of the origin of the money deposited in their accounts and had little power over how it was spent “cites the remand document of an other suspect connected to the PFI.
According to an investigation, local PFI leaders used these bank accounts, and after depositing cash there right away, similar sums were moved from their accounts to PFl’s bank account, which is maintained by the same bank.” This casts major doubt on whether bank deposits made to PFI’s accounts are real.”
Because of this, the inquiry determined that “cash deposits and bank transfers are not authentic transactions” and have been tampered with by PFI in order to present the unaccounted money obtained through unknown and questionable sources as pure and genuine.
The information was received days after the PFI, its associates, and affiliates were declared an unlawful association with immediate effect under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967, and over a hundred PFI members were detained across India on two separate occasions by the NIA, ED, and state agencies in joint and separate raids.
The statement was made by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), which declared “the PFI and its allies or affiliates or fronts as an unlawful association with immediate effect”, in a notification late on Tuesday night.
The restriction is placed on PFI as well as its other fronts, such as Rehab India Foundation (RIF), Campus Front of India (CFI), National Confederation of Human Rights Organization (NCHRO), All India Imams Council (AIIC), National Women’s Front, Junior Front, Empower India Foundation, Rehab Foundation, Kerala as a “unlawful association. “