Kashmir Separatist Leaders Routing Pak Funds Through Benami Properties

New Delhi: Separatist leaders in Kashmir are using benami properties to route terror funds received from Pakistan, top government sources told CNN-News18

The sources said that six separatist leaders are using proxies and benami properties to route these funds. These leaders have made fortunes for themselves and their families while leading the separatism movement in the Valley.

A dossier prepared by the National Investigation Agency on terror funding in Jammu and Kashmir has established a direct link between Pakistan-based terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba and Hurriyat leaders, and details how financial assistance from across the border is used for terror financing and to fuel unrest in the Valley.

The NIA has questioned several separatist leaders for raising and transferring funds via Hawala to fund terror activities in Kashmir. A week ago, the probe agency had arrested seven Kashmiri separatist leaders, including hardline Hurriyat chief Syed Ali Shah Geelani’s son-in-law Altaf Ahmed Shah. The others arrested are Ayaz Akbar, Peer Saifullah, Mehraj Kalwal, Shahid-ul-Islam, Naeem Khan and Bitta Karate.

CNN-News18 had earlier exposed how separatists were using cross-LOC trading in almonds to fund terror activities in the Valley.

In the over two-decade-long unrest in the Valley, the separatist leaders have been receiving steady funds from across the border.

Take, for example, chairman of All Party Hurriyat Conference, SAS Geelani. Government sources said he owns a two-storey ancestral bungalow in Dooru, Sopore, worth around Rs 1 crore. He has an office-cum-residence in Rehmatabad Colony registered in the name of Milli Trust and a two-storey house in Barazullahas been transferred to JEL, J&K.

Then there is the Unique Public School in Srinagar. Land for which has been partially donated by villagers while the rest of the land is owned by Geelani, sources added. He also owns a two-bedroom house in Delhi’s Khirki Extension which he bought for Rs 8 lakh and is registered in the name of GM Bhat, a Hawala conduit.

The two-storey house in Srinagar’s Bagh-e-Mehtab registered in the name of Geelani’s eldest daughter. The bunglow in Bemina area of Srinagar is in the name of another daughter.

The sources said Geelani’s son Nayeem owns agricultural land near Srinagar’s Rawalpore bypass, along with his brother Naseem. An orchard in Sopore and an eight-room house in Sant Nagar, Srinagar, are also registered in his name. Nayeem’s other properties include a flat in Delhi’s Vasant Kunj and a house in Auxiliary Police Lane, Srinagar.

Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, Chairman of Awami Action Committee, has invested heavily in Dubai. Sources told CNN-News18 that Farooq has acquired massive amount of benami properties in the name of his family. A Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) is said to be a facilitator in these deals.

Another separatist leader, Nayeem Khan of the Jammu and Kashmir National Front, has a house in Barzulla, Srinagar, worth around Rs 75 lakh. He also has an apple orchard, two houses in Pathanpora, and a limestone quarry — Asian Minerals — under his brother Muneer’s name. The quarry is believed to be worth around Rs 2 crore.

The government sources said J&K Democratic Freedom Party founder Shabir Shah owns land and a house in Afandi Bagh Sanat Nagar. Hotel Bahal Shah is Pahalgam is also registered in his name. Among other properties, he has a house and two plots in Srinagar’s Narbal, two houses in Rawalpora. He has dealership of many agencies with a saily turnover of Rs 4 to Rs 5 lakh.

On May 26, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrested Kashmiri separatist leader Shabir Ahmad Shah in connection with a money laundering case against him for alleged terror financing.

JKLF chairman Yasin Malik lives in a house in Maisuma area of Srinagar valued at Rs 1.5 crore. Sources said the JKLF office in Maisuma, worth around Rs 2 crore, is registered in the name of a relative. However, Malik is supposed to be the real owner of the property.

The sources added that the JKLF leader owns at least eight properties in Srinagar and Nowgan. He is also reported to have invested in wholesale business in Koker Bazaar.