The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has conducted searches at sixteen locations in Chennai, Coimbatore, Hyderabad and Mumbai in connection with a money laundering investigation linked to the alleged terror funding of the 2022 Coimbatore bomb blast. The agency said, the investigation revealed that the attack was carried out by Jamesha Mubeen, a suicide bomber, along with others as an ISIS-inspired terrorist attack. According to the ED, a modified Maruti car loaded with explosive substances was used in the blast.
The ED alleged that the accused raised funds for their terror activities through two major methods. One of these was a fake COVID-19 vaccination certificate racket operated during the pandemic, in which money was collected from individuals seeking fraudulent vaccination certificates without receiving the vaccine. Secondly through donations and fraudulent investments in Kovai Arabic College which was deeply involved in radicalisation of youths.
The agency said that the investigation was initiated based on various FIRs registered by the National Investigation Agency in connection with the suicide bomb explosion that took place near the Sangameshwarar Temple in Coimbatore in October 2022.
