Dawood Ibrahim aide Jabir Moti's extradition trial set for March 2019 in UK
London, Nov 12: Jabir Moti, an alleged "top lieutenant" in underworld don Dawood Ibrahim's organised crime syndicate, will stand trial in March next year in his extradition case on money laundering and extortion charges brought by the US authorities, a Westminster Magistrates' Court judge in London said on Monday.
Judge Tan Ikram remanded Pakistani national Jabir Moti, aka Jabir Motiwala and Jabir Siddiq, in further custody to appear for a case management hearing on December 10, before a three-day trial scheduled for March 13-15 in 2019.
The 51-year-old appeared before the court via routine procedure of video link from Wandsworth Prison in south-west London on Monday, when a previously set date for the trial in February 2019 was delayed due to scheduling reasons.
"Due to non-availability of counsel, the trial will now take place in March. I am mindful of the delay but the delay is very small," said Judge Ikram.
Moti, who has made an application to the court to have his name changed on the case documents to Jabir Siddiq, was arrested by Scotland Yard officers from a London hotel in August following an FBI investigation dating back to 2005.
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), arguing on behalf of the US authorities, has told the court that he is a "senior member" of D Company, a crime syndicate associated with Dawood Ibrahim, a key accused in the 1993 Mumbai bomb blasts case.
Prosecutor Ben Lloyd told the court at a hearing in September that the summary of the US charges against Moti cover allegations of laundering USD 1.4-million of purported proceeds from narcotics smuggling and "conspiracy to collect credit extensions by extortionate means", amounting to around USD 80,000.
The charges relate to a period between December 2011 and September 2012, which carry a maximum sentence of 25 years behind bars in the US.
"For a fee, D Company uses the power of violence for debt collection and has a reputation of intimidating members of the family of its debtors in India and Pakistan," the prosecution said in its case summary.
Moti's defence team has disputed allegations of him being a key aide of D Company as "obvious nonsense", describing their client as a "man of exemplary character" who is a tax paying, prominent businessman based in Karachi and accredited as a stock broker, with a family stock-broking business dating back to the 1950s in Pakistan.
At a previous hearing, the Pakistan government had also vouched for Moti's "good character" but the court ruled that it remained unconvinced that Moti did not pose a "flight risk" and denied him bail.
Moti's defence, led by Toby Cadman of Guernica law firm, has said it intends to depose a number of legal experts as witnesses in the case, with the key issues being "abuse of process and entrapment" by the authorities.
While Dawood Ibrahim's name has not come up specifically during the UK court proceedings, Westminster Magistrates' Court has been told that D Company is "named after the leader of the company based in Pakistan", associated with trafficking and money laundering through international smuggling routes across South Asia that were also linked to terrorist funding.
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Another North Goa nightclub sealed; Kejriwal says corruption led to fire tragedy
Panaji (PTI): As part of a crackdown against tourist establishments violating laws and safety norms in the aftermath of the Arpora fire tragedy, Goa authorities on Saturday sealed a renowned club at Vagator and revoked the fire department NOC of another club.
Cafe CO2 Goa, located on a cliff overlooking the Arabian Sea at Vagator beach in North Goa, was sealed. The move came two days after Goya Club, also in Vagator, was shut down for alleged violations of rules.
Elsewhere, campaigning for local body polls, AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal said the fire incident at Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub at Arpora, which claimed 25 lives on December 6, happened because the BJP government in the state was corrupt.
An inspection of Cafe CO2 Goa by a state government-appointed team revealed that the establishment, with a seating capacity of 250, did not possess a no-objection certificate (NOC) of the Fire and Emergency Services Department. The club, which sits atop Ozrant Cliff, also did not have structural stability, the team found.
The Fire and Emergency Services on Saturday also revoked the NOC issued to Diaz Pool Club and Bar at Anjuna as the fire extinguishers installed in the establishment were found to be inadequate, said divisional fire officer Shripad Gawas.
A notice was issued to Nitin Wadhwa, the partner of the club, he said in the order.
Campaigning at Chimbel village near Panaji in support of his party's Zilla Panchayat election candidate, Aam Aadmi Party leader Kejriwal said the nightclub fire at Arpora happened because of the "corruption of the Pramod Sawant-led state government."
"Why this fire incident happened? I read in the newspapers that the nightclub had no occupancy certificate, no building licence, no excise licence, no construction licence or trade licence. The entire club was illegal but still it was going on," he said.
"How could it go on? Couldn't Pramod Sawant or anyone else see it? I was told that hafta (bribe) was being paid," the former Delhi chief minister said.
A person can not work without bribing officials in the coastal state, Kejriwal said, alleging that officers, MLAs and even ministers are accepting bribes.
