D’s dirty cash and why the arrest of Jabir Moti will help break Dawood’s financial syndicate

New Delhi, Aug 20: Very often, it has been said that the best way to beat Dawood Ibrahim is to cripple him financially. His financial worth is what makes him a darling of the ISI, which uses his ill-gotten wealth to fund terror especially against India.

In the backdrop of this, the London police achieved a major breakthrough by arresting one of Dawood's key financial managers, Jabir Moti, a Pakistan national from the Hilton Hotel.

Indian agencies tracking the D-files tell OneIndia that Moti is a key link and has for several years been managing the finances of the D-syndicate. He was the go to man to move money in the international markets, which were used to purchase drugs, arms among other things.

India, which has been maintaining a fat file on Moti had made two requests to the UK to arrest him. Once the evidence was established, the London police went ahead and arrested him. A team of officials from India would now go to UK to question Moti.

His extradition to India may be a tough affair, considering he is a Pakistan national. However for the Indian agencies questioning him would be crucial to further the case against Dawood's financial network, an officer with the intelligence told OneINdia.

Financial empire:

Officials say that Dawood thrives on the money and assets he holds. In 2015, Forbes had said that Dawood Ibrahim's net assets were estimated at around 6.7 billion US dollars. The only drug smuggler ranked higher than Dawood was Pablo Escobar, whose net worth in 1989 stood at 9 billion US dollars.

In this context the arrest of Jabir Moti becomes extremely important. He has played a key role in trying to make the D dirty cash as legit. He moved money around and invested in property. Dawood has also ensured that his key financial managers operate out of London since his investments in the UK are the highest, followed by UAE and Spain. Dawood even recently picked up a mansion worth 5 million US dollars in Sydney.

Officials say that while his net worth stood at 6 billion US dollars in 2015, currently it could be estimated at anything between 10 to 15 billion US dollars. The questioning of Moti will not only help unearth Dawood's financial assets in the UK, but also in other parts of the world.

Investigations had also revealed that he also moved around money for Dawood's wife, Mehajabeen, his son Moeen, daughters, Mahrookh, Mehree and sons in law, Junaid and Aurangzeb.

Further investigations have also revealed that he had moved around money in Middle East, Africa and Southeast Asia. It is a massive financial empire and the arrest of Moti is bound to cripple it to a large extent. Further Indian agencies would also try and find out about the other financial managers, especially in India. The finances of Dawood are managed in various ways in India. They include financing films, property deals etc.

Moti according to the agencies was also instrumental in moving dirty money of the syndicate and the agencies suspect that the same was used to fund a series of nefarious activities, including terrorism.

India had on the basis of its investigations made two requests to the UK to arrest Moti, who has been on the radar for long.

The arrest was made in the nick of time as Moti was planning to move out of the UK. He holds a ten year visa in the UK and was planning on moving to Antigua as the heat on him had risen.

Dawood's global empire:

An official with the Enforcement Directorate informed OneIndia that they are conducting extensive probe in the United Kingdom. We have asked for details to be shared and even written to officials in the United Kingdom regarding the assets of Dawood Ibrahim.

In the UK, it was Iqbal Mirchi (died in 2013) along with Moti who had laundered away the wealth of the D Gang. There is almost Rs 3,000 crore worth of assets world wide which the D gang owns and attempts are being made to attach the same with the help of the UK authorities, the ED official pointed out.

In all the D gang owns 50 properties in ten different countries. All the properties have been purchased in benami names. So far the most concrete link that has been established between the D gang and the properties is through Iqbal Mirchi and Moti.

The investments made by Mirchi and Moti is the highest in Mumbai and the United Kingdom. They had laundered away all the D gang's money in properties in the UK and Mumbai. The ED has managed to establish that Mirchi and his aides had invested in at least 6 properties in Mumbai.