Zakir Naik's family received over ₹60-crore from Middle East: Reports

By Team Asianet Newsable | First Published Aug 11, 2016, 8:42 AM IST

An investigation into the finances of the controversial Islamic preacher Zakir Naik has revealed that Naik and his family had received money to the tune of ₹60-crore from Middle Eastern countries.

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"We still don't know what this money was meant for. We have done an inquiry and found the money trail. The money was transferred to family members' accounts," a source in the Mumbai police, which is investigating the case, told Times of India.

The account, the officer made clear, does not belong to Naik's NGO Islamic Research Foundation (IRF) but to Naik himself.

“We have come across one local bank account during the course of our investigation in which ₹50 crore to ₹60 crore has been allegedly transferred from Middle-Eastern countries. This account belongs to a relative of Naik. On further investigation, we found that funds were later allegedly transferred to the accounts of Naik’s wife, his children and some of his close relatives,” said a senior IPS officer who spoke on condition of anonymity to The Indian Express.

The IE report revealed that the investigators also were probing four shell companies allegedly controlled by Naik and his family. The Mumbai police are also probing the accounts of an international school run by Naik.

Also Read: Zakir Naik files ₹500-crore case against Times Now, Arnab Goswami

The televangelist came under the scanner after a probe into the July 1 Dhaka attack revealed two of the attackers, who pledged their allegiance to the Islamic State (ISIS) terrorists, were inspired by him.

Last month, Kerala police registered a case of forcible conversion against Arshid Qureshi and Rizwan Khan and arrested the two.

Qureshi was in the past attached to the IRF. The Mumbai police, on August 6, registered a case against four persons, including Khan and Qureshi, for allegedly radicalising Ashfaque Abdul Majeed, 22 and instigating him to join the ISIS.

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