Is terrorism really the last desperate resort of the poor? Dawood Ibrahim has 430 million dollars. From Asia Times, with thanks to Jean-Luc:
While all attention is focused on Osama bin Laden and his cohorts allegedly cornered in western Pakistan, in India there is an equal amount of interest in the one man who is wanted just as desperately – Dawood Ibrahim. . . .
The hunt for Dawood is taking place following Pakistan’s realization that flushing out terrorists and jihadi elements has become a necessity for its own survival. Pakistan has currently amassed 20,000 troops along the Afghanistan border for what is being believed to be a decisive battle against bin Laden and al-Qaeda militants. But what might be more than a coincidence is that Pakistan’s sudden willingness to flush out Dawood comes amid reports in the Indian media that a timely tip-off by the Indian intelligence agency Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) helped foil a third assassination plot against Musharraf. Two abortive attempts have been reported in the past few months. There is, however, no doubt in anyone’s mind that Dawood is indisputably the number one criminal wanted by India, and what has rankled is that he has for long used Pakistan as a base. . . .
It is the nature of the crimes attributed to Dawood that place him at the top of India’s most wanted wish list. The son of a police constable, he is the prime suspect in masterminding a series of bomb blasts that occurred in a single day in 1993 in Mumbai (formerly Bombay), the financial heart of India, killing 260 people and injuring 1,000. . . .
It is estimated that in Mumbai alone, Dawood and his family own assets worth US$430 million. This includes several buildings at prime locations such as Colaba, Crawford Market, Bhendi Bazar, Bandra, Oshiwara and Versova. Many of these are benami (fictitious names), which makes it difficult to seize them. The family has several builders, stockbrokers and jewelers fronting for it. Apart from this, Dawood has vast business interests in the hospitality industry in the United Arab Emirates, Canada, Australia and India. Several shopping malls in the West and Australia are also reportedly owned by the family. Dawood has also allegedly began operating an airline from a Central Asian republic.