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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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Agencies
June 28,2020

Paris, Jun 28: More than 10 million cases of the new coronavirus have been officially declared around the world, half of them in Europe and the United States, according to an AFP tally on Sunday based on official sources.

At least 10,003,942 infections, including 498,779 deaths, have been registered globally.

Europe remains the hardest hit continent with 2,637,546 cases including 195,975 fatalities, while the United States has 2,510,323 infections including 125,539 deaths.

The rate of infections worldwide continues to rise, with one million new cases recorded in just six days.

The tallies, using data collected by AFP from national authorities and information from the World Health Organization (WHO), probably reflect only a fraction of the actual number of infections.

Many countries are testing only symptomatic or the most serious cases and some do not have the capacity to carry out widescale testing.

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News Network
April 6,2020

New Delhi, Apr 6: With an increase of 490 cases in the last 12 hours, the total number of COVID-19 positive cases in India climbed to 4067, said Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Monday.

As many as 109 deaths have been reported across the country due to the deadly disease.
There are 3666 active cases in the country while 292 people have been cured/discharged/migrated.

Maharashtra has reported the highest number of COVID-19 cases so far, standing at 690, followed by Tamil Nadu and Delhi with 571 and 503 cases respectively. 

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News Network
February 19,2020

Feb 19: Pay increases across India’s organized sector will probably grow at the slowest pace since 2009 this year, according to a survey from Aon Plc.

Companies will increase average pay by 9.1% in 2020, down from 9.3% in 2019 and 9.5% the previous year, Aon said in a report published Tuesday. The small increase reflects a deep slowdown in Asia’s third-largest economy, where growing pessimism about job prospects have led many to cut down on consumption -- the main driver to growth.

India still leads the Asia-Pacific region in pay rises, but that is mainly due to higher inflation and a “war for key talent and niche skills,” Aon said.

“There is a general air of caution about the economy as we enter into 2020,” Tzeitel Fernandes, partner for rewards solutions at Aon, told reporters in New Delhi. “Low GDP projection and weak consumer sentiment are the reasons behind our lowest ever prediction.”

E-commerce companies and start-ups will probably get the biggest salary increases, projected at an above-average 10%, while financial institutions will hand out 8.5%. Unsurprisingly, the auto sector witnessed the biggest drop in growth -- down to 8.3% from 10.1% in 2018, according to Aon. The survey covered more than 1,000 companies across over 20 industries.

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