LONDON: Whilst Pakistan has always denied, it, the US government has confirmed in a London court that India’s most wanted terrorist, Dawood Ibrahim , and D-Company , his international crime syndicate, are based in Karachi, Pakistan.

On Monday, the first day of the extradition trial of Jabir Motiwala — who is accused of being Dawood’s top henchman — at Westminster magistrates’ court, John Hardy QC, representing the US government, said: “The FBI in New York is investigating the D-Company which is based in Pakistan, India and the UAE.”

“The head is Dawood Ibrahim, an Indian Muslim living in exile in Pakistan. He and his brother have been fugitives from India since 1993 and over the past 10 years, D-Company operatives have conducted operations in the US, specifically money laundering and extortion. The FBI investigation has revealed Motiwala reports directly to Dawood and extortion, debt collection and money laundering are his main jobs,” Hardy said.

The US government is seeking to extradite Motiwala to the US to face charges of conspiracy to commit extortion, blackmail, A-class drugs trafficking and money laundering. He is contesting the extradition.

“Motiwala is said to be a high-ranking member of D-Company which operates in the subcontinent and UAE and has international reach,” Hardy said.

The court heard how at least three FBI confidential sources met Motiwala — who lives in Karachi but travels extensively — in the US in 2011 and visited him in Pakistan in 2011 and 2012. “Motiwala made it clear he was with D-Company,” Hardy said.

On the trip in December 2011 to Pakistan, the FBI confidential source said: “The D-Company works in narcotics-trafficking that generates large amounts of cash.”

“In December 2011 in Pakistan Motiwala introduced one of the FBI confidential sources to his co-conspirator who is the lead money launderer for D-Company. During the meetings in Pakistan in 2011, the confidential source and Motiwala discussed debt collection and extortion and how for a fee D-Company uses (its) power for violence to resolve business disputes. Motiwala discussed debt collections by the D-Company in the US and abroad,” Hardy said.

The FBI informant returned to the US late 2011 and stayed in touch with Motiwala by phone and email.

Edward Fitzgerald QC, representing Motiwala, said: “evidence was obtained in Pakistan without authority, which was a breach of international law and sovereignty and that renders prosecution that results from that an abuse of power and process”.

