New files reveal PFI’s monetary power, membership strength and global reach in unprecedented detail

A recent Enforcement Directorate (ED) dossier has shown the growing reach and power of the Popular Front of India (PFI), the organization at the center of several ongoing investigations by various agencies, ToI reported on October 21.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrested KA Rauf Sherif, general secretary of the Campus Front of India (CFI), in December 2020, marking the beginning of a multi-agency investigation into the Popular Front of India (PFI). A dossier prepared by ED after a four-year investigation detailed that PFI has numerous members and offices in states like Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Delhi, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Bihar, West Bengal, Assam, Jammu and Kashmir and Manipur .

PFI, which was banned under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act in 2022 following an attempted attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi in July that year, reportedly has 13,000 members in Singapore and five Gulf states. According to the dossier, the funds are collected in cash from “unknown donors” and sent to India through hawala channels. These funds are then deposited into 29 bank accounts of trusts and affiliates.

The investigation led to the arrest of 26 top officials and the seizure of properties and bank accounts in India and abroad. A terrorist camp has been uncovered in Kerala. The dossier also linked PFI to the Delhi riots, the Hathras riots and the attempted attack on Prime Minister Modi during a rally in Patna in July 2022.

The high-profile arrests include CFI’s Rauf Sherif, Qatar’s Shafeeque Payeth, Delhi PFI president Perwez Ahmed and Sahul Hameed, who is involved in hawala operations from Singapore. ED said: “The real objectives of the PFI include carrying out an Islamic movement in India through jihad, although the PFI masquerades as a social movement. There is evidence that the protest methods they are using are violent in nature.”

A weapons training camp was discovered in Narath, Kannur district of Kerala, where PFI was training its members in explosives and weapons under the guise of physical education. The financial investigation revealed that PFI and its subsidiaries collected over Rs 94 billion. ED has 35 properties worth 57 billion.

“PFI has formed well-defined district executive committees for the non-resident Muslim diaspora in the Gulf States. It collected money in India and abroad and used it for terrorist activities in the country,” the ToI report said, quoting statements from the agency.