New Delhi: A Pakistan anti-terrorism court has sentenced Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) co-founder and Jamaat-ud-Dawah (JuD) chief Hafiz Muhammad Saeed to 31 years in prison in two more terror financing cases, Pakistan media reported.
The court has also imposed a fine of Rs 3,40,000 on Saeed and his properties have been confiscated as well. A mosque and madrassa that Hafiz Saeed allegedly built will be seized, reports said.
Hafiz Saeed is believed to be the mastermind of the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, in which at least 160 people were killed.
The 70-year-old has already been convicted in five such cases and sent to 36 years imprisonment. The total sentence of 68 years imprisonment will run concurrently.
The JuD chief is presently lodged at Lahore's high-security Kot Lakhpat jail.
On Friday, anti-terrorism court (ATC) judge Ejaz Ahmad Bhuttar handed a jail term of 32 years to Saeed in two FIRs registered by the Counter Terrorism Department of Punjab Police, a court official told PTI.
An UN-designated terrorist, Saeed has a $10 million bounty on his head from the United States. The US Department of the Treasury has designated Saeed as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist. He was listed under the UN Security Council Resolution 1267 in December 2008.
Pakistan has been on the FATF's grey list since 2018 for failing to curb curb money laundering and terror financing.
Saeed was arrested on July 2019 in the terror financing cases. In 2020, the Paksitan government announced a ban on JuD and Falah-e-Insanyat Foundation (FIF).
The Counter-Terrorism Department has alleged that JuD was financing terrorism from the massive funds collected through non-profit organisations and trusts including Al-Anfaal Trust, Dawatul Irshad Trust, Muaz Bin Jabal Trust, etc.
(With inputs from agencies)