ED targets gangster Atiq Ahmed’s Noida syndicate as henchmen push secret sale of benami assets 

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has launched a fresh crackdown in Gautam Buddh Nagar after learning that associates of the slain gangster-turned-politician Atiq Ahmed were attempting to liquidate his hidden real estate holdings.

Moving to pre-empt any secret sales, the agency compiled a list of suspect properties and sent it directly to the Noida Authority, Greater Noida Authority, Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority, and the local registration department to halt all transactions immediately. 

Police had already begun identifying land linked to the syndicate under the Gangster Act when intelligence flagged attempts by local henchmen to quietly flip the benami assets. The ED is now preparing to formally attach all identified properties across Noida and Greater Noida, targeting a network of builders, financiers, and local associates who facilitated the syndicate’s land holdings. 

The current action stems from a money laundering case registered by the ED against Atiq Ahmed in 2020. Early in the probe, federal agents attached ₹8 crore worth of property along with bank accounts held by Ahmed and his wife, Shaista Parveen. Interrogations conducted at Sabarmati Jail helped investigators map out the financial network, leading to a massive pan-State raid in April 2023. 

During those searches, ED teams raided properties associated with key lieutenants, including builder Sanjeev Agarwal, former MLA Asif Jafri, businessman Deepak Bhargava, relative Khalid Zafar, attorney Khan Saulat Hanif, builders Amit Goyal and Atul Dwivedi, CA Sitaram Shukla, and Wadood, the son of former village head Gulful. 

The April 2023 operation yielded cash-counting machines, documents detailing real estate holdings worth over ₹100 crore, ₹75 lakh in cash, foreign currency, gold and silver jewelry, and records linked to 200 bank accounts and 50 shell companies.

With the latest list submitted to local authorities, the ED aims to choke off the syndicate's remaining financial channels and secure full physical control over the gang's real estate footprint in the National Capital Region.