In conjunction with its investigation into suspected irregularities and the laundering of cash she allegedly collected for humanitarian work, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has filed a prosecution complaint (similar to a chargesheet) against Rana Ayyub. The alleged journalist was asked to appear before a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), Ghaziabad Court in relation to the matter, but she failed to do so, according to a report by Times Now.
Previously, Ayyub had submitted a motion contesting the Ghaziabad court’s ability to hear the case within its territorial jurisdiction. However, earlier this month, the Supreme Court rejected her plea, paving the way for the court to hear the case. However, the court had said that since there is a serious factual dispute over the places where the offence was committed, this question should be raised before the Ghaziabad court.
The investigation agency Enforcement Directorate had started a money laundering investigation into Ayyub based on an FIR filed against her on September 7, 2021 by the Indirapuram police station in Ghaziabad under the Indian Criminal Code, the Information Technology (Amendment) Act, and the Black Money Act.
The FIR claimed that Ayyub had fraudulently obtained funds from the general public under the guise of charity by establishing fundraising campaigns on the crowdfunding website Ketto. The charge sheet stated that Ayyub broke the law regarding foreign contributions and used the money totalling Rs 2.69 crore for personal expenses.
The Enforcement Directorate said, “Rana Ayyub utilised these funds to create fixed deposits of ₹50 lakh for herself and also transferred ₹50 lakh to a new bank account. Investigation found that only about ₹29 lakh was used for relief work.”
“The investigation has established that Rana Ayyub had launched the fund raising campaigns with the sole intention to cheat the general public and acquired proceeds of crime in form of fixed deposits and balances in bank accounts projecting them as untainted,” it added.
The ED attached assets worth Rs 1.77 crores of Rana Ayyub under the Money Laundering Act in relation to the case. The ED has, in its attachment order said, “Rana Ayyub has cheated the general Public Donors in a pre-planned manner and with the intention to cheat the general public donors”.
