New Delhi, Aug 6 (PTI) Funds worth Rs 29,176 kept in the bank account of an accused in the ISIS-inspired 2022 Mangaluru cooker bomb blast have been attached under the anti-money laundering law, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) said on Wednesday.

The blast took place in an auto rickshaw at the outskirts of Mangaluru on November 19, 2022 and the man who was allegedly handling the explosives in the three-wheeler, Mohammed Shariq, was injured and was named as the main accused in the case.

The bomb was supposed to be planted at the Dharmasthala Manjunatha Swamy Temple in Mangaluru. However, it exploded in the autorickshaw as the timer was set as 09 seconds instead of 90 minutes, the federal probe agency said in a statement.

The ED filed a case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in November 2022, taking cognisance of a National Investigation Agency (NIA) FIR.

The bank deposit of Rs 29,176 was kept in the bank account of another accused named Syed Yasin and it has been provisionally attached under the PMLA by an order issued by the Bengaluru office of the ED on August 5, the ED said.

A chargesheet filed in the case by the NIA said that the blast was part of a plan of the banned terrorist group ISIS to spread terror, wage war against the Government of India and to threaten the integrity and sovereignty of India, it said.

The agency said an online ISIS handler named 'Colonel' had given training over Wickr app/Telegram etc. to Shariq alias Premraj and some other accused to prepare an improvised explosive device (IED).

He (Colonel) also arranged funds through certain mule (illegal) accounts and also through cryptocurrencies, which were "encashed" by Yasin and Shariq through PoS (point of sale) agents.

In some instances, the ED said, the encashed cryptocurrencies were routed through "fraudulently opened mule accounts in FINO Payments Bank".

Funds worth Rs 2,86,008 were deposited by different cryptocurrency dealers in the mule accounts and Rs 41,680 was collected in cash, it said.

The amount was "utilised" for the purchase of some goods online to assemble the IED and for hiring "hideouts" in Mysuru and other places and also for conducting reconnaissance at various places in Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka.

The ED said another accused in the case, Maaz Munir, was the person who provided the details of the FINO payments bank mule accounts to Shariq so that he could receive payments sent by the online handler, Colonel. PTI NES KSS KSS

Money laundering attachment under PMLA targets bank funds linked to alleged ISIS-inspired bombing, exposing crypto-to-cash mule network. Enforcement Directorate provisionally attached funds under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act in connection with the 2022 Mangaluru cooker bomb blast after taking cognisance of an NIA FIR. The probe alleges funds were arranged by an online handler via encrypted apps, converted from cryptocurrencies into cash through PoS agents, routed into fraudulently opened mule accounts at a payments bank, and utilised to procure IED components, hire hideouts, and conduct reconnaissance.