Chargesheet filed against Noida resident for extorting money in name of PMO, ED contacts

A chargesheet has been filed against a Noida-based man for allegedly extorting money from people by duping them that he was close to the officers of the PMO and the Enforcement Directorate (ED).

The federal financial crimes investigative agency said on Wednesday (August 2) that the prosecution complaint has been filed against Mohammad Kashif before a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court in Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh on July 28.

The court has taken cognisance of the chargesheet on July 31, the ED said in a statement.

The money laundering case stems from a Uttar Pradesh Police FIR filed against the accused where it was alleged that Kashif portrayed that he was close to the officers of the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED). He then “extorted” money from the general public in the name of getting their work done from government departments or ministries.

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The ED said it has raided the residence of the man, located in sector 107 of Noida, leading to seizure of ₹1,10,50,000 cash, a currency counting machine and documents related to investigation conducted by various probe agencies.

These documents pertain to investigation conducted by the DRI, Customs, ED, ICAI etc. against certain people, the agency said.

Using this modus operandi, Kashif ‘extorted’ ₹1 crore from a family of businessman in lieu of helping them in a case being investigated by the ED, the agency said.

Kashif, it said, had purchased a property worth ₹1.78 crore, out of which he paid ₹1.05 crore in cash.

“Apart from this, the man had spent huge amount on his luxurious lifestyle (high-end luxury cars, watches, clothes etc.) including multiple foreign trips without any legitimate source of money,” the agency alleged.

(With inputs from agencies)