Bengaluru: The Directorate of Enforcement (ED), Bengaluru Zonal Office, has conducted searches at eight locations across Bengaluru as part of a money laundering investigation linked to an alleged Islamic State (IS) recruitment and terror funding module.

The searches were carried out under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, during which officials seized electronic records, digital devices and froze ₹7.5 lakh believed to be proceeds of crime.

Probe based on NIA case

According to the ED, the investigation stems from an Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) registered on the basis of a First Information Report (FIR) filed by the National Investigation Agency (NIA).

The case relates to alleged IS recruitment activities involving Iqra Welfare Trust, Guidance for Mankind (GFM) Trust, and certain individuals based in Bengaluru.

Five accused named in chargesheet

The NIA had earlier arrested businessman Irfan Nasir, Ahamed Abdul Cader, a business analyst with a private bank, Dr Mohammed Tauqir Mahmood, a Bachelor of Dental Surgery graduate from KIMS, Bengaluru, and Zuhab Hameed Shakeel Manna, also known as Zohaib Manna, an IT professional.

Another accused, Mohammed Shihab, an IT professional, was reported to be absconding.

The NIA has filed a chargesheet naming all five individuals in the case.

Allegations of recruitment and terror funding

According to the NIA chargesheet, the accused allegedly conspired to radicalise and recruit impressionable Muslim youth from Bengaluru into the Islamic State.

Investigators alleged that recruitment was carried out through a personality development programme known as Iqra Camp and a weekly study group called Quran Circle.

The chargesheet further alleged that funds were mobilised through individuals, trusts and personal savings to facilitate the travel of recruits to Syria via Turkey to join IS and fight against the Syrian government.

The accused are also alleged to have exploited sentiments surrounding the anti-CAA/NRC protests to incite communal tensions and propagated IS ideology through encrypted social media platforms.

The investigation is continuing.