ED to occupy Mumbai building once owned by drug smuggler Mirchi – Times of India

MUMBAI: The Enforcement Directorate (ED)will occupy prime real estate in one of Mumbai’s most expensive office buildings owned by a politician. Ceejay House at Worli, designed by architect Noshir Talati and constructed by NCP leader Praful Patel’s company, Millennium Developers, will be the ED’s new address. The agency is in the process of shifting one of its zonal offices on two floors of Ceejay House that once belonged to late drug smuggler Iqbal Memon, alias Iqbal Mirchi.
The building was constructed after amalgamating Mirchi’s plot where he used to run the Fisherman’s Wharf pub. The top floors of Ceejay House comprise the residence of Praful Patel spread over 35,000 sq ft. Last February, the special PMLA court declared Mirchi’s first wife Hajra, and their two sons, Asif and Junaid, fugitive economic offenders, and ordered their properties be seized.
The ED had filed an application before the court, requesting it to confiscate the Mirchis’ 15 properties, including two floors of Ceejay House. The collective worth of these properties is over Rs 100 crore. Recently, the ED took possession of the two floors, (9,000 sq ft carpet area on the third floor and 5,000 sq ft on the fourth).
The administrative staff of the ED have been visiting the premises for the last few days and are making required changes before shifting their office. A source said, “After confiscation, it becomes a government asset. Since there is an option under which the affected parties can challenge the final confiscation order within the provided time period, the ED is not auctioning the property, but making the best use of it. One of the zonal offices of the ED soon will be shifted to Ceejay House.”
The ED had its regional office at rented premises of Kaiser-e-Hind building at Ballard Estate. Mirchi, through an associate, had sold his rights over the closed discotheque, Fisherman Wharf, to Patel’s company. Millennium Developers had signed an agreement with Mirchi’s wife Hajra, and two sons Asif and Junaid jointly on November 4, 2004, under which they were allotted 9,000 sq ft carpet area on the third floor and 5,000 sq ft on the fourth floor. Junaid was a minor when the agreement was signed.
The ED is probing a money laundering case against the Mirchi family and the former promoters of DHFL, Kapil and Dheeraj Wadhawan.