ED charge sheet against Rana Ayyub says she used ₹2.69 crore public funds for self
The ED charge sheet against Rana Ayyub in the money laundering case says the journalist raised public funds of ₹2.69 crore for herself
PremiumThe Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday filed a charge sheet against journalist Rana Ayyub in a money laundering case. The charge sheet mentioned that Rana Ayyub raised fundraiser charity campaigns but utilised the raised funds of ₹2.69 crore for herself and also contravened the foreign contribution law.
The law enforcement agency filed its prosecution complaint against Rana Ayyub before a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court in Ghaziabad (Uttar Pradesh) on 12 October.
In a statement, the Enforcement Directorate said, “Rana Ayyub launched three fundraiser charity campaigns on 'Ketto platform' starting from April, 2020 and collected funds totalling ₹2,69,44,680." The fundraiser campaigns were meant to raise funds for slum dwellers and farmers; relief work for Assam, Bihar and Maharashtra.
The fundraiser campaigns were meant to help Rana Ayyub and her team to help those impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic in India.
The federal agency has alleged that the funds raised on the online platforms were received in the bank accounts of Rana Ayyub’s father and sister. The funds were subsequently transferred to her personal accounts.
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."
It further said, "In order to claim more expenses towards relief work, fake bills were submitted by Ayyub and subsequently, bank balances in the accounts of Ayyub amounting to ₹1,77,27,704 (including FD of ₹50 Lakh) were attached under the PMLA vide a provisional attachment order dated 04.02.2022."
The law enforcement agency has alleged that Rana Ayyub "illegally" raised the ₹2.69 crore funds and "cheated" general public donors.
It alleged, "These funds were not used for the intended purpose and instead used for creation of assets for herself. Ayyub has tried to project these funds as untainted and thus has laundered the funds received from general public."
The agency has alleged that Rana Ayyub also received the funds from foreign countries sans approval from the government.
"Rana Ayyub also received these funds from foreign countries without any approval or registration from the government which is required under the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act, 2010," the ED said.
Meanwhile, Rana Ayyub has rejected these allegations. In her defence, Rana Ayyub said they were "preposterous and wholly mala fide".
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