SRINAGAR: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has summoned nine prominent Gulmarg hoteliers, including Grand Mumtaz and Radisson Group owner Mushtaq Ahmad Ganai alias Chaya, under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in connection with an ongoing investigation linked to alleged irregularities in land transactions in Gulmarg.
Besides Chaya, top sources said that those summoned by the Enforcement Directorate include Mushtaq Ahmad Burza and Manzoor Ahmad Burza of the ITC Group, Nazir Ahmad Mir of M and Co, Manzoor Ahmad Khan of Hotel Khalil Palace, Abdul Hamid Dar of Hotel Mama Palace, Syed Musadiq Shah of Hotel Royal Park, Ibrahim Khan of Kolahoi Greens and Sadaf Shah of Hotel Alpine Ridge.
Sources said the hoteliers have been directed to appear before the agency from Monday (today) onwards, with one hotelier scheduled to appear each day, and furnish financial and property-related documents, including records pertaining to applications filed under the erstwhile J&K Roshni Act.
The summons, issued under Sections 50(2) and 50(3) of the PMLA, seek a range of documents, including details of bank accounts, movable and immovable assets, revenue records, lease deeds, income tax returns for the last five years and documents relating to applications filed under the erstwhile JK Roshni Act.
“Every proceeding under sub-section (2) and sub-section (3) of Section 50 of the Prevention of Money-laundering Act, 2002 shall be deemed to be a judicial proceeding within the meaning of Section 229 and Section 267 of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (45 of 2023),” the notice reads.
“It is hereby informed that if you fail to attend to give evidence and/or produce records as mentioned in the Schedule at the place and time as specified in the said summon, you shall be liable to penal proceedings under the Prevention of Money-laundering Act, 2002 (15 of 2003) and other relevant provisions of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (45 of 2023),” it further reads.
Speaking on the matter, Mushtaq Chaya said he did not appear personally before the ED on Monday but had sent all the documents sought by the agency.
“I have furnished all the documents that were asked for. However, I did not appear personally today,” Chaya said.
Although the summons do not disclose the specific Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) number or the precise allegations under investigation, the documents sought by the agency, particularly those relating to Roshni applications, land records and lease deeds, indicate that the probe is linked to the controversial Gulmarg land transfers under the erstwhile Roshni scheme.
The investigation, according to sources, traces its origins to FIR No. 08/2009 of the then Vigilance Organisation Kashmir, now the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB), which alleged a criminal conspiracy involving public servants and private beneficiaries in the vesting of ownership rights over prime state land in Gulmarg by allegedly manipulating records and bypassing statutory procedures.
The charge sheets in the case named several beneficiaries who have now been summoned by the ED. Investigators had alleged that ownership rights over around 35 kanals and six marlas of prime land in Gulmarg were conferred upon beneficiaries in violation of the provisions of the JK State Lands (Vesting of Ownership Rights to the Occupants) Act, 2001.
The ED as per sources is examining whether the alleged illegal transfer of prime land in Gulmarg generated illicit wealth and financial gains that may constitute proceeds of crime under the PMLA. (KDC)
