‘Zakir Naik’s sister acted as front for his firms’

Nailah recorded these statements in ED's complaint against Aamir Gazdar, one of Naik's confidantes, in a money laundering case.

In the complaint, ED said that Naik had established various shell companies to camouflage the source of his funds. It further said that he later diverted the funds for illegal activities, which included making provocative speeches to disturb the religious harmony in society and record such speeches for telecasting them on PEACE TV channel. The ED said the channel was established by him for larger viewership across the world to influence youths and terrorists.

On Monday, the ED handed over a copy of the complaint to Gazdar's lawyer, Tarraq Sayyed. Gazdar was present before court and his judicial custody was extended till May 2 by special judge P R Bhavake.

The ED said Gazdar handled cash transactions on behalf of Naik. It said investigations revealed that during a short span of six to eight months, he had handled unaccounted amounts of around Rs 5 crore. ED said on inquiry, Gazdar revealed that it was handed over to him by Naik but he refused to divulge the funds source. The complaint also stated that Gazdar first came in contact with Naik in 2003 when he had gone to Islam International School in Dongri for his son's admission. He said it was on Naik's request that he joined as a director in Harmony Media Private Ltd in 2005 and did not receive any remuneration.