The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has identified 24 possible illegal properties owned by Hafiz Saeed's and Hurriyat Conference's financier Zahoor Watali. This comes after the ED had on Monday attached Watali's properties worth Rs 1.03 crore in a money laundering case pertaining to terror funding in Jammu and Kashmir.

The ED is soon expected to attach the newly-identified properties. These assets, ED believes, are part of proceeds of crimes such as hawala transactions that further funnelled money to incubate terrorists.

These properties are situated across three states — Delhi, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.

The ED is acting based on the investigation by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) against Lashkar-e-Taiba chief Hafiz Saeed. Watali is also said to be close to Hizbul Mujahedeen chief Syed Salahuddin and other terrorist organisations based out of Pakistan and engaged in exporting terror to India. He, allegedly, used the hawala money to fund these organisations and their activities.

The ongoing ED investigation is based on a case registered under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

The NIA has already filed its chargesheet in the matter. As per the NIA chargesheet, Watali was he had funded several Hurriyat leaders in the Valley and had been in constant touch with ISI in his quest to fund terrorism on Indian soil.

Watali had allegedly funded activities ranging from encouraging the youth to pelt stones and create disturbances, to manage money for media advertisements fostering anti-India sentiments and pushing the youth to terrorism.