Correspondent
SRINAGAR, June 15: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has summoned nine prominent Gulmarg hoteliers, including Chairman of Jammu and Kashmir Hoteliers Club, Mushtaq Ahmad Ganai alias Chaya, for money laundering.
They were summoned by the agency under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in connection with an ongoing investigation linked to alleged irregularities in land transactions in Gulmarg under the erstwhile J&K Roshni Act.
Those summoned besides Chaya by the Directorate are Mushtaq Ahmad Burza and Manzoor Ahmad Burza of the ITC Group, Nazir Ahmad Mir of M&Co, Manzoor Ahmad Khan of Hotel Khalil Palace, Abdul Hamid Dar of Hotel Mama Palace, Syed Musadiq Shah of Pride Resort, Ibrahim Khan of Kolahoi Greens and Sadaf Shah of Hotel Alpine Ridge.
The hoteliers have been directed to appear before the agency from June 15 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 to the hoteliers 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 J&K 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 read.
"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 said.
The Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of the Mushtaq Group of Hotels, which operates luxury properties across India, including destinations like Srinagar, Gulmarg, Pahalgam, and Delhi was to appear today. However, he did not appear personally before the ED but sent all the relevant documents sought by the agency.
The documents are related to Roshni applications, land records and lease deeds, indicating that the summons are related to the controversial Gulmarg land transfers under the erstwhile Roshni scheme.
The case 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.
According to the chargesheet filed by the ACB before the court, the accused officials and beneficiaries had hatched a criminal conspiracy to provide derive benefit by having transferred ownership rights in favour of the accused beneficiaries of the state land in Gulmarg in the year 2008. The accused officials allegedly abused their positions and the Lands (vesting of ownership to the occupants) Act 2001 or Roshni Act.
As per chargesheet ownership rights of over around 35 kanals and six marlas of prime land in Gulmarg were conferred upon beneficiaries in violation of the provisions of the J&K State Lands (Vesting of Ownership Rights to the Occupants) Act, 2001.
The beneficiaries have now been summoned by the ED which 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.
