LUCKNOW: The Prayagraj unit of Enforcement Directorate which has taken Mukhtar Ansari’s brother-in-law Atif Raza on remand, said that soon after being booked under the Gangsters Act, Raza had sold five land properties worth around Rs 6 crore to mining mafia in Bundelkhand.
The ED had arrested Atif Raza on November 7 and Mukhtar’s MLA son Abbas Ansari on November 4 in a money laundering case.
The ED probe has revealed that as soon as the Gangsters Act was slapped on Atif Raza in 2021, he immediately struck a deal with the mining mafia so that the property amassed is not confiscated. Raza was also interrogated about it but could not give a satisfactory reply. The ED is also trying to record statement of Sharad Srivastava, chartered accountant of Vikas Constructions, whose director is Raza.
The ED will now probe these deals along with the accounts through which the payments were received. ED officials said the chartered accountant of Raza’s firm, Sharad Srivastava, is evading arrest but will face strict action. Sources said Sharad has evaded six summonses.
A team is likely to visit Bundelkhand and then collect details of the transactions and also interrogate those involved in the business.
Meanwhile, ED got seven-day police custody remand of Mukhtar's son Abbas Ansari on Friday for the second time. Abbas, the sitting Mau MLA from Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP), was produced in the sessions court of the district. He was arrested by ED in connection with the PMLA case on November 4, and a day after that, was sent to seven-day custody remand. The court approved the custody remand of Ansari till November 18.
