Zakir Naik's Rs 100 crore real estate investments under NIA scanner
Now, the National Investigation Agency is probing Zakir Naik's allegedly Rs 100 crore investments in various real estate deals.
New Delhi, Jan 20: There is more trouble for controversial Islamic preacher Zakir Naik. The National Investigation Agency has found transactions to the tune of almost Rs 100 crore which were allegedly invested in real estate.
[Also Read: Delhi HC defers Zakir Naik's plea challenging ban on NGO]
The NIA has learnt that there are 78 different bank accounts through which these transactions were made. "We are in the process of examining these accounts and once the picture is clearer, we will summon him for questioning," an NIA official said.
The NIA is also in the process of questioning members of 23 different entities, who are alleged to be involved with Zakir Naik. The NIA officials say that there is a clear trail that the money had been invested in real estate.
It is to be seen if Naik had invested the money at the behest of some third party, the officer added. While the NIA is also probing whether Naik had influenced several youth to join terror groups, the agency says that it would be more important to get to the bottom of the exact money trail.
There have been contributions or donations from abroad and we suspect that a chunk of this money has been diverted into real estate. Prior to the NIA taking over the probe, the Kerala police had claimed that some amount of money had been used for conversion-related activities in the state.
The Ministry for Home Affairs had recently banned Zakir Naik's NGO, Islamic Research Foundation. It was banned on various counts which also included receiving foreign funds without proper documentation.
OneIndia News