The investigation into the controversial money laundering case of Delhi-based meat exporter Moin Qureshi took a new turn on Saturday after the businessman's wife landed in the grip of Indian authorities. Nasreen Qureshi was detained at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi on her arrival from London, around 10 days after her husband, who had fled the country in October, returned to India.
Sources revealed that the immigration authorities tipped off the ED officials the moment they got a whiff of her arrival. As luck would have it, Nasreen fell at the airport due to a panic attack possibly triggered by the situation at hand and was taken to Medanta hospital from where she has been referred to Paras hospital.
Sources have revealed that Qureshi has given an undertaking that his wife will join the investigation, based on which she has been hospitalised.
Qureshi, who had fled the country despite a lookout circular issued against him by the Enforcement Directorate, had arrived in India on November 22. ED officials have already started questioning Qureshi.
It may be recalled that, Qureshi had been detained at the airport in Delhi in October in a money laundering case, based on a Lookout Circular issued by the Enforcement Directorate. He, however, managed to give the immigration authorities a slip and flew to Dubai. The incident had left the authorities red-faced and an inquiry was ordered to look into the issue. It was found that Qureshi had presented a court order to show that he had furnished a bond in an Income Tax case and had no restrictions on flying abroad. By the time the ED team reached the airport, he had managed his way through, the sources said.
The ED has registered a case against Qureshi under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in 2015 to probe alleged tax evasion and hawala-like dealings.