ED freezes ₹7.5 lakh, conducts searches in Bengaluru in ISIS recruitment and terror-funding probe
The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) has conducted searches at eight locations in Bengaluru in connection with a money laundering investigation linked to an alleged ISIS
The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) has conducted searches at eight locations in Bengaluru in connection with a money laundering investigation linked to an alleged ISIS recruitment and terror-funding module, freezing what it claimed to be proceeds of crime worth ₹7.5 lakh. The ED carried out the searches on Tuesday under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, on the premises of the Iqra Welfare Trust, the Guidance for Mankind (GFM) Trust, and people linked to these organisations based in Bengaluru.
During the raids, officials claimed to have seized incriminating electronic records, digital devices and froze ₹7.50 lakh. The ED case is based on an FIR filed by the Investigation Agency (NIA) regarding alleged ISIS recruitment activities at the two bodies. The NIA had arrested Irfan Nasir, Ahamed Abdul Cader, Mohammed Tauqir Mahmood, and Zuhab Hameed Shakeel Manna, while Mohammed Shihab is said to be absconding. The NIA subsequently filed a chargesheet against all five accused, alleging they were affiliated with the banned terrorist organisation ISIS/ISIL/Daesh.
According to the NIA chargesheet, the accused allegedly conspired to radicalise and recruit impressionable Muslim youth from Bengaluru into ISIS. Officials said they identified and indoctrinated recruits through a personality development programme known as Iqra Camp and a weekly Quran Circle, before arranging funds and logistics to facilitate their travel to Syria via Turkey to join ISIS. The chargesheet further alleged that the accused raised funds through individuals, trustees of the Iqra Welfare Trust and GFM Trust, and personal savings to finance recruitment activities.
It also claimed they exploited sentiments surrounding the anti-CAA/NRC protests to incite communal hatred and propagated ISIS ideology through encrypted social media platforms. The ED said its investigation has found that the funds raised by the accused and through the trusts were allegedly used to finance and facilitate the recruitment of vulnerable individuals into ISIS. Further investigation under the PMLA is in progress.
The BriefWire