CHENNAI: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday conducted searches at 16 locations across Chennai, Coimbatore, Hyderabad and Mumbai as part of a money laundering investigation into the alleged funding of the 2022 Coimbatore car bomb blast.
The searches were carried out by the ED's Chennai Zonal Office under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), based on multiple FIRs registered by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in connection with the suicide bomb explosion near the Sangameshwarar Temple in Coimbatore in October 2022.
According to the ED, the attack was carried out by suicide bomber Jamesha Mubeen and others as an ISIS-inspired terrorist act using a modified Maruti car loaded with explosive substances.
The agency alleged that the accused raised funds for their activities through two major channels. One involved operating a fake COVID-19 vaccination certificate racket during the pandemic, generating money from people seeking vaccination certificates without receiving the vaccine.
The second involved collecting donations and fraudulent investments through Kovai Arabic College, which investigators alleged was used to radicalise youths.
The ED said its investigation revealed that 12 accused in the Coimbatore bomb blast case, including Jamesha Mubeen, had attended online or offline sessions conducted by Kovai Arabic College. The agency alleged that they were mentored by Jameel Basha, identified as the promoter of the institution, following which they were indoctrinated into Salafi-Jihadi ideology and conspired to carry out the terror attack in support of the banned terrorist organisation ISIS.
The searches are aimed at tracing the alleged proceeds of crime and uncovering the financial network linked to the terror funding investigation.