Mumbai: A special court under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) allowed the Enforcement Directorate to record statements of six jailed accused in a money-laundering investigation linked to an alleged ISIS conspiracy case being probed by the National Investigation Agency.The judge pronounced the order on Friday, after hearing special public prosecutor Arvind A Aghav for the Enforcement Directorate. The application was moved by the agency’s Mumbai zonal office.The ED told the court that the money-laundering probe was opened on the basis of an NIA case registered in Nov 2023 against alleged ISIS members or sympathisers operating in Delhi and bordering areas of Uttar Pradesh. The Delhi Police Special Cell had arrested Shahnawaz Alam, Mohd Ashraf and Mohd Warsi. During the investigation, provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and the Explosive Substances Act were added.The order records that Alam was also an absconding accused in another NIA case investigated from Mumbai.Considering the gravity of the allegations, Centre directed the NIA to take over the investigation from the Delhi Police Special Cell. The NIA later filed a chargesheet against Alam, Ashraf and Warsi in March 2024.The court was told that further investigation revealed the alleged involvement of 17 more accused. The NIA arrested those accused, who are in judicial custody in different prisons, except Rehan Suse and Saif Nachan, who have been granted bail.According to the ED’s submissions, the accused allegedly became active members of IS as part of a criminal conspiracy. The agency described Saquib Nachan as the main conspirator, alleging that Nachan was linked to SIMI and had earlier convictions in terror cases.The ED sought permission to record statements of Sahgaf Divekar in Tihar Central Jail, Haseeb Mulla in Rohini Central Jail, Musab Mulla in Tihar Jail, Farhan Suse in Tihar Jail, Aakif Nachan in Taloja Central Jail and Shamil Nachan in Byculla District Prison.The agency said the questioning was required to identify alleged accomplices, trace the flow of funds and examine the role of the accused in alleged money laundering.Allowing the request, the court directed the prison superintendents concerned to allow the ED officers to record the statements during the specified dates between Oct and Nov 2026.The court also directed the jail authorities to allow the officers to carry mobile phones, laptops, printers, digital devices, pen drives, documents and stationery needed for recording the statements.
