Srinagar, June 15 (JKNS): The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has summoned nine prominent hoteliers from Gulmarg, including hotelier Mushtaq Ahmad Ganai alias Chaya, in connection with an ongoing money laundering investigation linked to alleged irregularities in land transactions in the famous tourist destination.
Sources told news agency JKNS that the summons have been issued under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), seeking appearance of the hoteliers before the agency along with various financial and property-related documents.
Those summoned include Mushtaq Ahmad Ganai alias Chaya, Mushtaq Ahmad Burza, Manzoor Ahmad Burza, Nazir Ahmad Mir, Manzoor Ahmad Khan, Abdul Hamid Dar, Syed Musadiq Shah, Ibrahim Khan and Sadaf Shah.
According to sources, the hoteliers have been directed to appear before the ED from Monday onwards, with one individual scheduled to appear each day. They have also been asked to furnish documents relating to bank accounts, movable and immovable assets, lease deeds, revenue records, income tax returns for the last five years and records pertaining to applications filed under the erstwhile J&K Roshni Act.
The notices, issued under Sections 50(2) and 50(3) of the PMLA, state that the proceedings are deemed judicial in nature and non-compliance may attract penal action under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act and other relevant legal provisions.
Sources said that while the summons do not specifically mention the Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) number, the nature of the documents sought indicates that the investigation is linked to alleged land transfers and transactions involving properties in Gulmarg, including matters related to the erstwhile Roshni scheme.
The probe is understood to have originated from an earlier vigilance case registered in 2009, which alleged irregularities in the conferment of ownership rights over prime state land in Gulmarg. Investigators are examining whether the alleged transactions generated proceeds of crime that fall within the ambit of the PMLA.
Further investigation in the matter is underway. (JKNS)
