MQM leader jailed for fraud not mortgage

LONDON: Imbisat Malick, a Muttahida Qaumi Movement’s London-based Central Co-ordination Committee member, was jailed because of his involvement with the MQM and the fraud for which he was prosecuted came to light during a police investigation into the finances of the MQM, court papers obtained by The News confirm.
Some MQM leaders have gone on record to state that Imbisat Mallick has been jailed for 21 months over a mortgage fraud that was his personal matter, but the court papers available with this correspondent unambiguously state that “the fraud came to light during a police investigation into the finances of the MQM, a Pakistani political party based in the UK, the investigations has shown that members of the organisation have access to large cash balances and have an extensive property portfolios.”
In cases where mortgage frauds are involved, police rarely get involved as banks pursue such civil cases, but Mallick’s conviction is unique in the sense that around 15 members of the Counter Terrorism Command Unit officials – the same unit that’s responsible for the murder investigation of Dr Imran Farooq and the associated money-laundering cases—raided the house of Imbisat Mallick under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act (PACE), after executing such warrants. The court papers clearly show that Mallick’s mortgage was 100 percent up-to-date. The court papers confirm that Mr Mallick, who was sentenced at Isleworth Crown Court here on 13th of January this year, didn’t cause loss to the lender—the Santander Bank—and used the house to live with his family and was not speculating the sale of the house. Mallick’s lawyers presented in the court the letter from the Santander Bank of 3rd January 2014, advising change to monthly mortgage and giving the details of the future payment. They demonstrated that the bank didn’t raise any concerns, was happy to carry on doing business with Mr

Mallick and didn’t object to the mortgage arrangement with Mr Mallick.
The court papers show that the Scotland Yard detectives raided the property of Mr Mallick on 17th of July 2013 – roughly a month after the detectives raided the residential properties of the MQM chief Altaf Hussain and his cousin Iftikhar Hussain Qurasihi. On 24th of June, the police arrested Quraishi, 52, at the Heathrow Airport when he was returning to London after attending a wedding in Canada. The Counter Terror unit executed a dawn raid at Mr Mallick’s Northwood home on 17th July. The police took away mobile phones, navigation system, computers, multi media laptops, data storage devices and almost all documents found in the house. The News has confirmation that the detectives, after arresting Mr Mallick, searched the property for a day.
According to sources, Mr Mallick was going to plead not guilty because it was a broker who had originally arranged all the paper work to obtain mortgage for Mr Mallick and for this, he was paid in the tune of about 6 thousand GBP. But the solicitor advised Mr Mallick that on prima facie the charges of mortgage fraud in a court before the jury could lead to wider exposure of the matters relating to the MQM where further witnesses could have been called to explain the property portfolios and the large cash balances. The prosecution paper clearly state that Mr Mallick is a central MQM leader and also son-in-law of Muhammad Anwar, one of the most senior MQM leaders and a key adviser to the party on international affairs.
The court papers say that Imbisat Mallick’s father-in-law is MQM’s senior leader and that he would be able to “purchase the house for cash if he was inclined to do so”.
The court papers show that the prosecution made a witness statement in support of an application for a restraint order under Section 41 Proceeds of Crime Act 2002. This application in the case of Mr Mallick means that his sentencing is linked with the wider money-laundering probe because no cash was found during raid on Mallick’s hosue.
The News is aware that Mr Mallick was advised by his solicitors that a trial could open a Pandora’s Box that could lead to several MQM figures also standing in the court for witness statements and other forms of questioning. The source confirmed that Mr Mallick pleaded guilty to avoid that situation and therefore, he has become the first martyr for the party in the multiple active probes.
As mentioned above, several leaders of the MQM are distancing themselves from Mr Mallick that his conviction is a personal matter, but his case is a test for the MQM and throws up a dilemma for the party as in whether the party acknowledges his huge sacrifice or tries to distance itself from one of their closest associates who now finds himself behind the bars for his very involvement in the party affairs.
The court papers show that Regina Vs Waya mortgage fraud precedent was used in the Isleworth Crown Court to sentence Mr Mallick but Mr Waya, in a similar mortgage fraud case, was sentenced to 80 hours of community service reflecting the judge’s view of the relatively low level for his culpability. The judge in the case of Mr Waya went on to say that “he was not guilty of a serious mortgage fraud, involving dishonest overvaluation of property. There was no loss to the mortgage lender.”
The papers seen by The News show that the case involving Mallick relates to a property in London’s Northwood area, which is subject to a mortgage in the sum of £399,734 and the approximate value of the property is £637,000.
The papers show that “the benefit will be the amount of equity in the property that can be attributed to the amount gained from the fraud.
The present value of the house is approximately £637,000 so the equity is around £127,000. The mortgage of £434,945 represents 85 percent of the purchase price. The benefit gained by the fraud is therefore 85 percent of £127,000 which is £107,950.”