Foreign funding, radicalisation under lens: ED arrests founder of Al-Furkan Educational Trust in Bikaner

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The arrest of Sadeeque, the agency stated, marks a significant step in dismantling a network of shadow financial operations, suspected radical influences and unlawful activities operating under the guise of charitable and religious work.

ED Jaipur zonal office unit arrested Sadeeque on Wednesday under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002. He was presented before a special PMLA court in Jaipur on Thursday. The court has granted ED custody of Sadeeque for a period of three days till December 6 for further investigation.

ED initiated investigation based on two First Information Reports (FIRs) registered by Rajasthan Police and credible information wherein it is alleged that Sadeeque was involved in "radicalisation activities, Dawah activity and forced religious conversions, association with various overseas radical outfits and suspicious high value financial transactions routed through his and his family members' bank accounts, running into crores of rupees."

"The police FIRs and chargesheets also mentions charges of attempt to murder and use of illegal arms by the accused," said the federal agency. ED investigation has revealed that "Sadeeque formed Alfurkan Educational Trust, which manages Masjid-e-Ayesha and routinely collected sizeable public donations for and through this trust, primarily in cash, with no financial record keeping."

"The donations collected for religious, social and charitable use were allegedly retained entirely in cash by Mohammed Sadeeque under his sole, undocumented control. The probe indicates that these unaccounted cash collections became the primary source of funds that he diverted for personal use and deployed to finance a range of illegal activities, including those of undertaking frequent foreign visits and meeting banned and radical outfits overseas and promoting his radical agenda," said the ED in a statement.

ED's examination of Sadeeque's foreign travels shows that he undertook multiple visits to Bangladesh, Nepal, Qatar and Oman using unverified cash funds, without any lawful financial trail.

During his visit to Bangladesh, ED mentioned, Sadeeque worked closely with one Md Salim alias Saurabh Vaidya, later arrested by the Madhya Pradesh Anti-Terrorist Squad for alleged links with the proscribed organisation Hizb-ut-Tahrir. "Further investigation has established that Sadeeque had no legitimate or consistent source of income for several years and subsisted on unlawful cash-based operations, including gambling, illicit liquor trade, and suspected dealings in illegal country-made firearms. The link between these criminal activities and the misappropriated donations is reinforced by the recovery of three country-made weapons and live cartridges from him and his associates in a case already charge-sheeted by the local police. The facade of religious and charitable work was thus consciously used by Sadeeque to conceal deeper networks of unaccounted, clandestine and criminal operations," stated the agency. The ED investigation has further revealed that Sadeeque met members of Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB or JuM) and maintained contact with them even after returning to India. "He was also encouraged by JMB-linked individuals to travel to Nepal for further meetings and allegedly intended to travel onwards to Syria to access conflict zones but was intercepted by immigration authorities."

ED said its probe also examined a widely circulated video in which an inflammatory speech is attributed to him, which was made with the deliberate intention of provoking communal sentiments. "The investigation has also revealed that foreign country flag was burnt at public gatherings under his supervision and that he mobilised cash donations by orchestrating such activities designed to inflame sentiments, exploit religious sensitivities, and convert public anger into personal financial gain." (ANI)