ED summons former J&K CM Farooq Abdullah in money laundering case

The Enforcement Directorate has summoned Lok Sabha MP Farooq Abdullah on May 31 at its Srinagar office in connection with a money laundering case linked to alleged financial irregularities in the Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association, officials said on Friday.

Abdullah (84), a three-time chief minister of the erstwhile Jammu and Kashmir state, had recorded his statement in the same case in 2019, they said.

Political parties in the valley said the summons were "common to all opposition" leaders in the country.

Reacting to the development, Abdullah's party, the National Conference (NC), said the veteran leader would continue to cooperate with the authorities like he has done in the past.

"ED summons to JKNC President Dr Farooq Abdullah nothing new; this is common for all opposition parties in India. He has continued to maintain his innocence in the matter and has cooperated with the investigative agencies and will do so in this case as well," the NC posted on Twitter.

PDP president Mehbooba Mufti said there was nothing to react to this as it was crystal clear that the voice of the opposition was being muzzled with the help of central probe agencies like the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate (ED).

The ED had questioned Abdullah in connection with the multi-crore Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association (JKCA) scam case earlier as well.

Between 2011 and 2012, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had given Rs 112 crore to the state cricket association for the promotion of the game in Jammu and Kashmir. It was alleged that Rs 46.30 crore from the grant was misappropriated.

In 2015, a public interest litigation (PIL) was filed by two cricketers -- Majid Yaqoob Dar and Nissar Ahmad Khan -- in the Jammu and Kashmir High Court in connection with the alleged scam that had surfaced in 2012.

The case was subsequently handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to probe the alleged embezzlement of funds in the cricket association headed by Abdullah.

The CBI had filed a chargesheet last year in the court of the chief judicial magistrate of Srinagar against Abdullah and other accused in the case.

The agency had in 2020 attached assets worth Rs 11.86 crore of Abdullah in this case.

The ED had alleged that Abdullah "misused" his position as the president of the JKCA in the past and made appointments in the sports body so that the BCCI sponsored funds could be laundered.