New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has arrested Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) national president M K Faizy in a money laundering case linked to the banned Popular Front of India (PFI). The central agency claims that SDPI has an "organic" relationship with PFI and was being used to carry out the latter’s criminal activities.

The SDPI, founded in 2009 and headquartered in Delhi, is registered as a political party with the Election Commission. However, the ED alleges that it functions as the political front of PFI, which was banned by the Union government in September 2022.

Officials stated that Faizy, 55, was arrested at 9:30 pm on Monday at Indira Gandhi International Airport after he arrived from Kochi, Kerala. The ED recorded his statement and confiscated a mobile phone from him. On Tuesday, a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court remanded him to ED custody for six days.

The agency has reportedly found evidence that Rs 4.07 crore of PFI funds were utilised by SDPI. Officials indicated that the Election Commission would soon be informed about these alleged "illicit funds" being routed to SDPI, which the ED described as a "recipient, beneficiary and user of the proceeds of crime".

During the remand hearing, the ED argued that SDPI was "funded and controlled" by PFI. The agency presented evidence suggesting a "deep-rooted" nexus between the two, including overlapping membership, PFI office bearers' involvement in SDPI’s founding, and the sharing of assets.

"SDPI is a front organisation of PFI, through which PFI has been carrying out its anti-national and criminal activities," the ED alleged in court. However, SDPI denies any such link and insists it is an independent political entity.

The ED further stated that Faizy’s custody was required to probe "cross-border fundraising, secret transmission channels, layering of funds, and their utilisation in criminal activities by PFI, SDPI, and associated entities".

Faizy accused of financial misconduct and evading summons
According to the ED, Faizy was "actively and knowingly" involved in acquiring, possessing, concealing, and using proceeds of crime for various purposes, including election expenditure. The agency claims these funds were "layered and projected as untainted money" within SDPI.

It also alleged that Faizy had a "vicarious" responsibility under Section 70 of the PMLA as SDPI’s national president. Furthermore, the ED claimed that PFI was "directing" SDPI on candidate selection for assembly and parliamentary elections.

The probe agency has recovered documents suggesting that PFI was covering legal fees for SDPI members accused in criminal cases. It also stated that PFI’s financial support to SDPI was primarily in cash, ensuring that such transactions remained off official bank records.

The ED added that Faizy was interrogated in January 2023 but subsequently ignored 12 summonses between March 2024 and February 7, 2025, leading to a non-bailable warrant being issued against him.

SDPI describes Faizy as political observer
The SDPI describes Faizy as one of its founding leaders and an Islamic scholar who previously served as a Masjid Imam in the 1980s. He was elected national president of the organisation in 2018.

Investigative agencies claim that SDPI wields strong influence in certain regions of Kerala, Karnataka, and other southern states. The ED has also linked Faizy to Abdul Razak BP, a Kerala-based PFI leader accused of transferring Rs 2 lakh to the SDPI chief as part of fundraising activities.

With PTI inputs