SDPI Under Scrutiny: ED Raids Offices Across Multiple States in Money Laundering Probe

 The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has intensified its crackdown on the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) with nationwide raids following the arrest of its national president, Moideen K. Faizy, in connection with a money laundering probe linked to the banned Popular Front of India (PFI). The raids, conducted on Thursday, targeted SDPI offices across multiple states, including Delhi, Kerala, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Jharkhand. In Pakur, Jharkhand, ED officials carried out searches at the SDPI office near Maulana Chowk, with a heavy police presence securing the premises.

According to sources, the action stems from financial transactions uncovered during the agency’s investigation, which suggested that SDPI had received ₹4.07 crore from PFI through illegal hawala channels. Investigators allege that these funds were subsequently distributed across SDPI units nationwide. Faizy’s arrest took place on March 3 at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport, following multiple summonses by the ED, which he reportedly failed to respond to. The Patiala House Court has granted the agency six days of custodial interrogation.

In Kerala, the ED conducted simultaneous raids at SDPI offices in Thiruvananthapuram, Malappuram, and Kozhikode. A seven-member ED team from the Kochi unit, accompanied by armed central security personnel, launched the operation in the state capital, catching local police and intelligence agencies off guard. Meanwhile, a separate ED team from Chennai searched the SDPI district office in Malappuram, which operates from a rented building. Similar operations were reported in Kozhikode.

SDPI, founded in 2009 and headquartered in Delhi, has long been suspected of maintaining ties with PFI, which was banned by the Union government in 2022 under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) for its alleged involvement in extremist activities. While SDPI has consistently denied any affiliation with PFI, authorities claim that the organization functioned as its political front. Faizy himself was previously associated with PFI before joining SDPI in 2009 and later rising to the position of national president in 2018.

The ED’s investigation into PFI’s financial operations began in 2013, based on multiple FIRs registered by the National Investigation Agency (NIA). According to the agency, PFI members and office bearers were involved in a conspiracy to raise funds from domestic and foreign sources through banking channels, hawala networks, and donations to finance unlawful activities. To date, the ED has attached movable and immovable assets worth ₹61.72 crore in connection with the case and has filed nine prosecution complaints, resulting in the arrest of 26 PFI members.

During search operations conducted in December 2020, the ED recovered digital and documentary evidence allegedly establishing that SDPI operated under PFI’s directives, with shared members, financial dependencies, and coordinated political strategies. Investigators claim to have discovered a letter addressed to Faizy at PFI’s Kerala state headquarters, detailing candidate selection procedures for elections, along with a diary containing meeting minutes from March 2019, which purportedly revealed that PFI had funded SDPI with ₹3.75 crore for election-related activities.

With the latest crackdown, the financial dealings of SDPI have once again come under scrutiny, raising fresh questions about the organization's role and alleged affiliations. While the party continues to assert its independence, the ED’s findings could have significant political and legal implications as authorities deepen their probe into the flow of funds and operational links between SDPI and the now-banned PFI.