ED to attach 3 Worli bldg plots linked to Mirchi, this time under FEO Act

VijayV.SinghMumbai: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) initiated the process to attach three Worli building plots linked to late drug trafficker Iqbal Memon alias Mirchi under the Fugitive Economic Offenders (FEO) Act and will likely issue the relevant order this week.The three properties - Rabia Mansion, Marium Lodge and Sea View - spread over 4,970.41 square metres (around 1.2 acres), were earlier attached by the ED under the PMLA Act, but a few days ago the court permitted the agency to attach them again under the EFO Act.The three building plots, which once directly abutted the sea, are now located at the southern end of the Worli promenade, next to the luxurious high-rise Samudra Mahal in Worli.The FEO law grants the govt broader powers to confiscate the assets of individuals declared to be fugitive economic offenders after court confirmation and to determine their future use, including auction.In the past three months, the ED confiscated and took possession of several properties belonging to Mirchi and his associates under the FEO law. These included the closed Meenas Hotel plot in Juhu, spread over 448 square metres, a farmhouse in Mahabaleshwar, shares in plots of Irani Bungalow and Bharucha Bungalow in Panchgani. The ED was in the process of deciding the future use of these confiscated assets, including the possibility of auctioning them.Meenas Hotel properties, including a portion of a ground-plus-four-storey building near Juhu-Tara Road, was a partnership firm in which Mirchi’s son Junaid was one of the partners. The farmhouse located in Metgutad village in Mahabaleshwar was linked to Mirchi’s wife Hajra and their son Junaid. The confiscated properties included approximately 3.5 acres of land in Kenjal, Wai (near Mahabaleshwar), and shares in the two Panchgani bungalows along with their adjoining areas.Mirchi died in London in 2013. In 2022, a special court declared his wife Hajra and their two sons, Asif and Junaid, as fugitive economic offenders. The Enforcement Directorate subsequently moved an application seeking confiscation of their properties under the FEO Act. Earlier, the court had permitted the ED to attached various properties of Mirchi.Last month, the court allowed attachment of the three buildings along with other assets, collectively worth Rs 600 crore, under the FEO Act, after stating that “there is strong reason to believe that the properties are proceeds of crime or benami property owned by the accused who are already declared as FEO.”