The Enforcement Directorate's Jaipur zone has made a significant arrest in a high-profile money laundering case with alleged connections to radical networks. Mohammed Sadeeque, also known as Sadik Khan, the former president of the Al Furqan Educational Trust (AET) in Bikaner, was taken into custody under the stringent Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.
Cash Deposits and Custody Order Raise Red Flags
Following his arrest, Sadeeque was presented before the special PMLA Court in Jaipur on Thursday. The court has remanded him to ED custody for three days, until December 6, to allow for a thorough interrogation. This legal action follows extensive searches conducted by the agency across Bikaner on September 17 as part of its probe.
Officials revealed that the investigation was triggered by the detection of suspicious cash deposits exceeding Rs 1 crore in Sadeeque's bank accounts in August. An ED officer, speaking anonymously, stated that these deposits were "disproportionate to his known sources of income" and raised serious questions about the origin and potential misuse of the funds.
Probe Uncovers Donation Diversion and Foreign Travel
The ED's case is built on two FIRs registered by the Rajasthan Police and credible intelligence inputs. The allegations are severe, encompassing radicalisation activities, forced religious conversions linked to Dawah work, and high-value suspicious transactions.
According to an official ED release, the probe found that Sadeeque collected public donations for the Al Furqan Educational Trust, which manages Masjid-e-Ayesha, entirely in cash. These funds were reportedly retained without any formal accounting. The agency alleges that the unaccounted money was used to finance his frequent foreign travel.
Travel records show multiple visits to Bangladesh, Nepal, Qatar, and Oman, funded through unexplained cash channels, the ED claimed.
Links to Banned Outfits and Inflammatory Content
The investigation took a more serious turn with the uncovering of Sadeeque's alleged foreign associations. During a visit to Bangladesh, he is suspected to have collaborated with Mohammed alias Salim alias Saurabh Vaidya, who was later arrested by the Madhya Pradesh ATS for links with the proscribed outfit Hizb-ut-Tahrir.
Furthermore, the ED asserts that Sadeeque maintained contact with individuals affiliated to the Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB/JuM). He had reportedly planned travel to Syria, but was prevented from departing by immigration authorities.
Adding another layer to the case, the ED is now analysing a widely circulated inflammatory video speech allegedly made by Sadeeque, which is said to be aimed at provoking communal sentiments. The agency is also looking into alleged incidents involving the public burning of a foreign national flag to mobilise donations and create unrest.
The arrest marks a crucial development in a complex probe that intertwines financial crimes with serious allegations of activities threatening national security. The coming days of ED custody are expected to be pivotal in uncovering the full extent of the network and the flow of illicit funds.
