Mumbai: The Directorate of Enforcement (ED)launched a major crackdown across Maharashtra and Gujarat in a high-stakes money laundering probe into the Rs 125 crore alleged hawala funds deposited in Malegaon Merchant Bank accounts of 12 unemployed youths.

The multiple raids at 23 locations early Thursday morning targeted properties linked to a Malegaon-based trader and alleged hawala operator Siraj Ahmed Harun Memon accused of funneling over Rs 125 crore through illicit transactions into shell companies. The banks accounts were allegedly misused for elections funding.

The FPJ had last Friday reported mysterious deposits of over Rs 12-15 crore each in the accounts of 12 unemployed youth totalling over Rs 125 crore in Malegaon Merchant Bank, Nashik. The report in FPJ had sent alarm bells ringing in several quarters in Mumbai and New Delhi because of the huge amount of money involved and the recepients being in a communally sensitive area like Malegaon.

The sudden influx of huge deposits in the cooperative bank after the announcement of the assembly elections in Maharashtra led the Nashik Rural police to launch probe into the source of the funds and motives behind the irregularities.

The initial probe by the federal anti money laundering agency identified 14 such accounts with 2,200 transactions and total credit amount processed to the tune of Rs 112 crore while another 315 debit transactions are scrutinised.

The Nashik rural police had identified 24 benami bank accounts of accused at Malegaon Nashik Merchant Bank & Bank of Maharashtra using KYC documents of dozen youngsters promising them jobs and made deposits of Rs 12-15 crore each into the youths accounts trialling Rs 125 crore in 15 days.

The ED took over the investigation and conducted raids in 24 key cities including Malegaon, Nashik, and Mumbai in Maharashtra and Ahmedabad and Surat in Gujarat to probe misuse of bank accounts for unauthorized financial operations.

“An amount of Rs 45 crore was transferred to shell companies Pragati Trader and MK Marketing based in Ahmedabad, from Axis Bank. The accounts of the unemployed youths were used to receive funds from shell companies and further distribute to other entities,” said senior police officials.

The police alleged hat Ahmed exploited individuals from poor backgrounds, luring them with promises of jobs in Agricultural Produce Market Committees (APMC) in exchange for their personal documents to open bank accounts and create shell companies for money laundering. Central agencies are also investing possible terror-funding angle.