The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has filed a chargesheet against Robert Vadra in a money laundering case involving UK-based defense dealer Sanjay Bhandari. Let us tell you that this has restarted the long-running investigation into alleged foreign assets and illegal financial relations. This charge sheet has been filed in Delhi’s Rouse Avenue Court. According to officials, Vadra’s statement was recorded under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in July this year. The agency has accused him of being linked to overseas assets and financial transactions linked to defense dealer Bhandari, who is already facing charges of having undeclared assets abroad.
The matter is related to London property
This started after the Income Tax raid on Bhandari in 2016. It reportedly found emails and documents that pointed to his links with Vadra and his associates. The materials purportedly referred to the renovation of a London-based property believed to belong to Sanjay Bhandari. Investigators claim that the renovation of this property was done on the instructions of Robert Vadra and middlemen associated with him.
Sanjay Bhandari has been declared a fugitive
Let us tell you that in the last few years, ED has also investigated land transactions related to Vadra, Bhandari and persons associated with both in Haryana.
It is alleged that these deals were part of a wider network through which money was transacted and assets acquired. Bhandari, who fled India in 2016, has been declared a fugitive economic offender by a Delhi court. At the same time, the agency had earlier attached several properties in India, which were said to be linked to Vadra or his associated entities. The agency claimed they were proceeds of crime earned through Bhandari’s foreign deals.
Robert Vadra rejected the allegations
It is noteworthy that Robert Vadra has consistently rejected the allegations and called the investigation politically motivated. He has said that he does not own any property in London and has raised questions on ED’s interpretation of the documents recovered in the case.