As part of a money laundering probe into the outlawed Popular Front of India, the Enforcement Directorate has taken custody of four homes and 6.75 acres of property in Kerala’s Munnar area.
Munnar Villa Vista Pvt Ltd has assets, which are worth a total of Rs 2.53 crore (book value). The federal investigation agency attached them temporarily on January 7, and the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) adjudicating body verified it on June 30, the ED said in a statement on Saturday.
According to the agency, the adjudicating authority’s order cleared the way for the agency to take ownership of the land and the four villas.
The Popular Front of India (PFI) was banned in September last year under the terms of the Unlawful Operations Prevention Act (UAPA) for alleged links to terror operations.
According to the Enforcement Directorate (ED), PFI leaders and members associated with overseas entities were developing the Munnar Villa Vista Project (MVVP) in order to launder money collected from foreign countries as well as within the country and to generate funds for PFI to finance its radical activities, and the project was being developed by forming a company called Munnar Villa Vista Pvt Ltd (MVVPL).
The organization claimed its investigation uncovered infusion of a large volume of unaccounted cash in the project, subscription of MVVPL shares in cash in the name of ghost shareholders, transfer of MVVPL shares without consideration, and bogus transfers made to other companies without any supply of goods or services.
A National Investigation Agency (NIA) FIR alleges that a group of PFI/SDPI (Socialist Democratic Party of India) activists engaged in a criminal conspiracy to train their cadres in the use of explosives and weapons, and organized a terrorist camp at Narath in Kannur.
The PFI was founded in Kerala in 2006, with its headquarters in Delhi.
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