After Income Tax, now ED: Noose tightens around controversial Kerala businessman Faris Abubaker
Abubaker hit the headlines for his alleged connections to high-profile people, including Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.
FollowAfter Income Tax (I-T) department searched the offices linked to controversial businessman Faris Abubakar, now the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has also initiated a probe following the inputs of black money transactions.
Abubaker hit the headlines for his alleged connections to high-profile people, including Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. The income tax department has found that companies owned by Faris have acquired land in many places, including Kochi, through middlemen. Following this, the ED has also come forward to investigate land dealings.
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The I-T department was also investigating the alleged money transactions related to the real estate deals made abroad, as per reports.
The complaint against Faris and Sobha Group is that the land, which has restrictions on construction, including wetlands, was bought at a price and handed over to big companies and the financial transactions were conducted abroad.
Earlier, the ED had attached property worth Rs 201 crore in Gurugram of Shobha Developers in connection with the money laundering case. Karnataka PCC president DK Shivakumar also had a stake in Shobha Developers, owned by PNC Menon, a Keralite.
The political connections of Faris Abubakar, who works in the industrial sector, including exports, have been discussed many times in Kerala. VS Achuthanandan described Faris as a 'hated man' who joined the Pinarayi side during the CPM factionalism.
Faris Abubakar’s donation of Rs 60 lakh to the Nayanar Memorial Football Mela without disclosing his sponsorship is also big news. At that time, Kairali channel aired Faris Abubakar's interview as the remarks made by former Chief Minister VS Achuthanandan against Faris fueled the controversy.
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