ED arrests Maha minister Malik for money laundering

Mumbai: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday arrested Maharashtra Minority Affairs Minister Nawab Malik in a money-laundering case probe linked to the activities of fugitive gangster Dawood Ibrahim, his aides and the Mumbai underworld, officials said.

The 62-year-old NCP leader was taken into custody shortly before 3 PM after he was questioned for about six hours at the ED office in south Mumbai's Ballard Estate area. He was brought there by the agency at around 8 AM. Malik raised a clenched fist, smiled and waved towards the waiting media personnel before he was taken away for a medical checkup by agency officials in a vehicle escorted by CRPF personnel and local police.

He told the media from inside the vehicle: "We will fight and we will win. Will expose all." Officials said his statement was recorded under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and he was arrested under the same provisions as he was "evasive" in his replies. He will be produced in a court in Mumbai where the agency is expected to seek his custody for at least seven days.

Malik's alleged links to some property deals with those convicted for the Mumbai blasts are said to be under the radar of the federal probe agency and hence his questioning was necessitated. His party and NCP leaders had said he was taken by ED officials from his residence around 6 AM. Malik's office said in a tweet: "Today morning the ED had come to @nawabmalikncp saheb's residence. They accompanied saheb in his vehicle to the ED office. Advocate Amir Malik, Saheb's son has accompanied saheb along with." "Na darenge na jhukenge! (won't be afraid, won't bow down) Be ready for 2024!", it said in another tweet, with the hashtag we stand with Nawab Malik. Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut told reporters that Malik was taken away by the ED from his home. "...I think this is a challenge to the Maharashtra government...They (central agencies) are free to probe...old issues are being dug out but you should remember that after 2024 you too will be probed," he said.