Directorate of Enforcement (ED), Kolkata Zonal Office has filed a Prosecution Complaint (PC) against
Ajad Mallik @ Ahammed Hossain Azad @ Azad Hossain, a Pakistani National, before the Hon’ble Special Court
(PMLA), Kolkata on 13.06.2025. The Hon’ble Court has issued pre-cognizance notice upon the accused person
and fixed a date for hearing.
ED initiated investigation on the basis of FIR registered by West Bengal Police under Section 14 and 14A
of Foreigners Act, 1946 against Ajad Mallik and Unknown others for violation of the Foreigners Act, 1946. During
a search conducted on 15.04.2025 Ajad Mallik @ Ahammed Hossain Azad son of Mona Mallik, initially believed
to be a Bangladeshi national, was found residing in India without valid documents and found involved in making
Indian Passport and other documents through fraudulent means for illegal immigrants in lieu of money.
Subsequently, he was arrested under the provisions of PMLA and remained in ED custody for 14 days in the
instant case. Presently he is in judicial custody.
ED investigation revealed that Ahammed Hossain Azad @ Azad Hossain was a Pakistani national illegally
living in India. A Pakistani Driving License dating back to 1994 was recovered from his mobile phone, bearing the
name Azad Hossain and featuring the photograph of Ajad Mallik alias Ahammed Hossain Azad, listed his father’s
name as Mumtaz-Ul-Haque and a permanent address in Pakistan. The document recorded his date of birth as
14.08.1971 and was issued by the Licensing Authority in Hyderabad, Pakistan. In order to conceal his true identity,
Azad Hussain adopted the alias “Ajad Mallik” and procured multiple Indian identity documents—including Aadhaar
Card, PAN Card, Driving License, Voter ID, and Passport—by submitting forged and fabricated documents.
During investigation by ED, it was found that Ahammed Hossain Azad @ Ajad Mallik operated a hawala
network to facilitate illegal cross-border remittances between India and Bangladesh, collecting payments in cash
and UPI, before transferring equivalent amounts to Bangladesh using platforms like Bkash. He was also involved
in illegal money transfers and document forgery. He was actively involved in facilitating the preparation of visas
and passports for Bangladeshi nationals seeking to travel to foreign countries such as Dubai, Cambodia, and
Malaysia. He collected payments in Bangladeshi Taka, USD, or Indian Rupees and either deposited these
amounts into his own bank account or transferred them to the accounts of associates engaged in fraudulent
visa/passport processing. Further, Azad Hossain played a significant role in the fraudulent activities carried out at
certain forex changers (FFMC) based in Kolkata, in which huge cash deposits were falsely represented as
proceeds from legitimate foreign currency sales to customers but were Proceeds of Crime (POC) actually linked
to unlawful practices, including the creation of fake Indian identities for Bangladeshi individuals to obtain
passports.
Further investigation is under progress
