A Delhi Court has recently framed money laundering charge against Kashmiri separatist leader Yasin Malik and 6 others under PMLA, over allegations of receiving foreign funding from Pakistani establishment through hawala channels.

Special NIA Judge Prashant Sharma of Patiala House Courts also framed charges against Zahoor Ahmad Shah Watali, Naval Kishore Kapoor, M/s Trison Farms and Constructions Pvt Ltd, Shabir Ahmad Shah, Masarat Alam and Abdul Rashid Sheikh.

"I conclude that prima facie, there is sufficient material on record based upon which strong suspicion is raised against all seven accused persons namely Zahoor Ahmad Shah Watali, Naval Kishore Kapoor, M/s Trison Farms and Constructions Pvt Ltd, Mohd. Yasin Malik, Shabir Ahmad Shah, Masarat Alam and Abdul Rashid Sheikh, for which said accused persons have to be charged with offence u/sec. 3 of PMLA, punishable u/sec. 4 of PMLA," the Court said.

The ED alleged that the accused persons received funds from Pakistani establishments through hawala channels and other sources, which were allegedly routed through different conduits and used for subversive and separatist activities in Jammu and Kashmir.

According to the prosecution, the scheduled offences resulted in generation of proceeds of crime amounting to approximately ₹8.94 crore.

This money laundering case arose on the basis of a case registered by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in 2017.

The NIA had invoked Sections 120B, 121 and 121A of the Indian Penal Code, and Sections 13, 16, 17, 18, 20, 38, 39 and 40 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).