Iqbal Mirchi's wife, sons told to appear before court

The ED has also sought confiscation of their assets, some of them in Mumbai, as envisaged under the law

A Special court in Mumbai on Thursday issued notices to the wife and two sons of the late gangster Iqbal Mirchi, telling them to appear before it in February in connection with an ED plea seeking to declare them as fugitive economic offenders under a 2018 law.

Earlier this month, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) had filed a plea under relevant provisions of the Fugitive Economic Offenders (FEO) Act, 2018, seeking to declare Mirchi's wife Hajra Memon and sons Junaid Iqbal Memon and Asif Iqbal Memon as fugitive economic offenders (FEOs).

Accepting the submissions made by the agency, which is probing a money laundering case against Mirchi and his family members, the special court directed the trio to appear before it on February 16. The ED has also sought confiscation of their assets, some of them in Mumbai, as envisaged under the law. The three are stated to be based abroad and have evaded ED's summonses and court-issued warrants in the past.

"In the first phase, prayer has been made for confiscation of 15 Indian properties, including the 3rd and 4th floors of Ceejay House (in Mumbai) having market value of about R96 crore and six bank accounts having balance of Rs 1.9 crore.

"Prayer has also been made for allowing the ED to file supplementary applications under the fugitive economic offenders law," the ED had said. Under the FEO Act, a person can be declared a fugitive economic offender if a warrant has been issued against him for an offence involving about Rs 100 crore or more and he has left the country and refuses to return.

Businessmen Vijay Mallya, Nirav Modi and four promoters/directors of Gujarat-based Sterling Biotech firm, facing money laundering charges, have been declared fugitive economic offenders in the past. The ED has filed the money laundering case against Mirchi, who died at the age of 63 in London in 2013, his family and others last year after studying multiple Mumbai police FIRs lodged against them.

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