Lucknow: ED filed a prosecution complaint against Mohammed Kashif (36) in a special PMLA court in Ghaziabad on Wednesday. A prosecution complaint by ED is like a chargesheet filed by the police.
Kashif posed himself close to the officers of PMO and ED and extorted money from the public in the name of getting their work done from government departments/ ministries.
Initially, a team of Special Task Force (STF) arrested Kashif for cheating people by promising them government jobs and projects in return for lakhs of rupees on April 19, 2023.
Kashif had then told police that his father used to run a music and news channel where he worked; it shut down in 2017 due to financial losses. “I wanted to earn more money. So, I started editing my photos with dignitaries, including the PM, to increase my reputation among the public and show I have high connections. By taking advantage of this perception, I started talking to people online and promising to get them government contracts and jobs in various departments. I would charge a high amount from them,” Kashif had told STF.
Later, ED took up the case and during an investigation under PMLA, 2002 by ED, searches were conducted at the residence of Mohammad Kashif located in Sector-107, Noida, Uttar Pradesh, wherein cash amounting to Rs 1.10 crore a currency-counting machine was recovered.
During further investigation, it was found that Kashif had extorted Rs 1 crore from a family of businessmen in place of helping them in a case being investigated by ED.
The investigation has revealed that Mohammad Kashif had purchased property worth Rs. 1.78 crore, out of which he has paid Rs1.05 crore in cash.
Apart from this, he had spent a huge amount on his luxurious lifestyle (high-end luxury cars, watches, clothes etc.) including multiple foreign trips without any legitimate source of money.
