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ED arrests Dr Zakir Naik’s aide on charge of ‘money laundering’

Agencies
March 22, 2019

New Delhi, Mar 22: Enforcement Directorate on Friday arrested physician-turned-preacher Dr Zakir Naik’s alleged aide Abdul Kadir Najmudin Sathak on charge of “actively assisting” him in money laundering.

According to ED, the money laundering was done through "dubious" origins from UAE to facilitate production and broadcasting videos.

Sathak, who is a jeweller by profession, was director of M/s. Global Broadcasting Corporation FZE LLC which owned the Peace TV channel that used to broadcast speeches by internationally acclaimed orators on comparative religion including Dr Naik from UAE for the Middle East and Africa.

"PMLA investigation revealed that the company of which Sathak was the director was controlled by Dr Naik through him as he was his trusted aide," said the ED statement.

The ED said that the content of the Peace TV channel was allegedly made in India by M/s Harmony Media Pvt Ltd, Mumbai, which was also controlled by Dr Naik by placing his sister, Nallah Noorani and his close associate Aamir Gazdar as directors.

Moreover, "the funds required to record the content for Peace TV was routed through M/s. Global Broadcasting Corporation FZE LLC, Dubai. An amount of Rs 79 crore (approximately) was received from M/s. Global Broadcasting Corporation FZE LLC to M/s Harmony Media Pvt Ltd," read the ED statement.

“But for these monies, it would not have been possible to produce these speeches of Zakir Naik and reach wider audiences through Peace TV. The source of fund remitted by M/s. Global Broadcasting Corporation FZE LLC to Harmony Media is suspicious as there were no advertisements run on this channel and Sathak has not submitted any details of the same. The arrangement was made to project the transfer of money from M/s. Global Broadcasting Corporation FZE LLC to M/s Harmony Media Pvt Ltd, as a business transaction,” said the statement.

Both the entities, M/s Global Broadcasting Corporation FZE LLC and M/s Harmony Media Pvt Ltd, were directly controlled by Naik through his trusted aides, according to ED.

During the course of the investigation, it came to light that the videos were also allegedly exported to the United Kingdom by Sathak.

“There was no monetary transaction in respect of videos exported to the UK, which further raises suspicion. Further investigation in the matter is under progress,” the ED statement read.

Earlier, a total amount of Rs. 50.49 crore worth of properties belonging to Dr Zakir Naik, his relatives and Islamic Research Foundation which he founded were attached provisionally by the Enforcement Directorate. Aamir Gazdar, a close associate of Zakir Naik was also arrested for aiding him.

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News Network
March 3,2020

Daman, Mar 3: A BJP councillor was shot dead on Monday in the Union Territory of Daman, police said.

Salim Memon was sitting in his motorcycle showroom when three to four unidentified persons shot four to five bullets after asking a visitor there to move out, an official said quoting eye-witnesses.

While fleeing, they also shot two rounds close to this visitor who was standing outside, he said.

"Memon was rushed to a hospital in Marwad area but was declared dead on arrival. CCTV footage is being scanned to nab the culprits," said Daman Superintendent of Police Vikramjit Singh.

Memon was elected to Daman municipality as a Congress candidate but then switched over to the BJP.

Sources said Memon, who also has a land brokerage business, had come out of jail a few months back in connection with a case of rivalry.

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News Network
June 26,2020

New Delhi, Jun 26: With the highest single-day spike of 17,296 COVID-19 cases reported in the last 24 hours, India's COVID-19 count reached 4,90,401 on Friday, said the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW).

The country also saw 407 deaths in the last 24 hours, which pushed the death toll to 15,301.

The total number of cases includes 1,89,463 active cases, 2,85,637cured/discharged/migrated cases, as per the MoHFW.

According to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), the total number of samples tested up to June 25 is 77,76,228; the number of samples tested on 25 June is 2,15,446.

Maharashtra remains the worst-affected state in the country with 1,47,741 cases. The active cases in the state are 63,357. The number of people cured or discharged stands at 77,453 while the death toll is at 6,931.

Delhi has so far reported 73,780 cases. The active cases in the national capital stood at 26,586. While the cured and discharged numbers stood at 44,765. The death toll in the city is 2,429.

Tamil Nadu has so far reported 70,977. With active cases at 30,067 and the number of cured or discharged at 39,999, while the death toll stood at 911.

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News Network
July 20,2020

New Delhi, Jul 20: Alleging that 2,426 companies have "looted" people's savings to the tune of Rs 1.47 lakh crore from banks, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has asked if the Prime Minister Narendra Modi led government will conduct a probe into it to punish those guilty.

"2,426 companies looted 1.47 lakh crore rupees of people's savings from banks. Will this government investigate this loot and punish the culprits?" Gandhi said on Twitter, without elaborating.

"Or will it allow them to flee like Nirav and Lalit Modi?" he asked.

Gandhi's attack came after media reports claimed that the All India Bank Employees Association (AIBEA) had released a list of 2,426 borrower accounts that have been categorised as “wilful defaulters” with dues amounting to Rs 1,47,350 crore to the banking system.

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