The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has seized Rs. 1.77 crore from journalist Rana Ayyub, a vocal critic of the ruling BJP. She is accused of money laundering and swindling funds collected for philanthropic purposes.
Temporary Order by the Agency
The agency had issued a temporary order under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) to attach a fixed deposit and bank accounts in her and her family’s names, according to agency sources. When a property is attached, it cannot be transferred, converted, or relocated.
Ms. Ayyub has yet to respond to these claims.
Complaint is based on FIR
The money laundering complaint against Ms Ayyub is based on a First Information Report or FIR submitted by Vikas Sankrityayan, the founder of an NGO named “Hindu IT Cell” and a resident of Indirapuram in Ghaziabad, with the Uttar Pradesh’s Ghaziabad Police in September.
According to a document attributed to “ED sources,” the agency that investigates financial crimes discovered that between 2020 and 2021, the journalist raised approximately 2.69 crore for charity causes through an internet crowdfunding site called Ketto.
Entire donation was received through Ketto: claims Ms Ayyub
“Entire donation received through Ketto is accounted for and not a single paisa has been misused,” Ms Ayyub said at the time.
“Funds totalling Rs 2,69,44,680 were raised on Ketto by Rana Ayyub. These funds were withdrawn in the bank accounts of her sister and father,” according to the Enforcement Directorate’s notice, and the total sum was then “transferred,” in Ms. Ayyub’s own words.
