The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday conducted almost simultaneous searches of the houses of at least three top leaders of the Popular Front of India (PFI) in Kerala.
Officials said an ED team from New Delhi carried out surprise inspections at the residences of PFI chairman O.M.A. Salam and secretary Nasarudeen Elamaram in Malappuram. In Thiruvananthapuram, ED officials searched the house of PFI leader Karamana Ashraf Maulavi at Poonthura. They faced some protests in the coastal locality. Armed paramilitary personnel escorted the raiding parties.
Officials here indicated that the inspections in Kerala were part of a nationwide operation that targeted suspicious PFI fund flow. Officials here said the ED in New Delhi was investigating at least two anti-money laundering cases against the PFI. The agency was probing whether the PFI’s alleged acceptance of funds from foreign entities over the years violated FEMA (Foreign Exchange Management Act) and PMLA (Prevention of Money…