NEW DELHI: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has filed a chargesheet against journalist Rana Ayyub under the anti-money laundering law, accusing her of "cheating" the public and utilising charity funds worth Rs 2.69 crore for creating her personal assets, and also violating the foreign contribution law.
The federal agency filed its prosecution complaint against Ayyub before a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, on October 12.
"Rana Ayyub launched three fundraiser charity campaigns on the 'Ketto platform' starting from April 2020 and collected funds totalling Rs 2,69,44,680," the ED said in a statement issued on Thursday.
Ketto is an online crowdfunding platform.
The campaigns, it said, were meant to raise funds for slum dwellers and farmers; relief work for Assam, Bihar and Maharashtra and help Ayyub and her team to help those impacted by COVID-19 in India.
The probe found that the funds raised on the online platforms were received in the accounts of Ayyub's father and sister and subsequently transferred to her personal accounts, the ED alleged.
"Ayyub utilised these funds to create a fixed deposit of Rs 50 lakh for herself and also transferred Rs 50 lakh to a new bank account. Investigations found that only about Rs 29 lakh was used for relief work," it claimed.
"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 Rs 1,77,27,704 (including FD of Rs 50 Lakh) were attached under the PMLA vide a provisional attachment order dated 04.02.2022," it said.
The ED alleged Ayyub "illegally" raised the Rs 2.69 crore funds and "cheated" general public donors.
"These funds were not used for the intended purpose and instead used for the creation of assets for herself. Ayyub has tried to project these funds as untainted and thus has laundered the funds received from the general public," the agency alleged.
Reacting to the development, Ayyub said the chargesheet is "yet another desperate attempt to target and intimidate me for my work, and yet another example of the abuse of the PMLA law and misuse of law enforcement agencies to silence me, a voice that questions and critiques the ruling regime."
Taking to Twitter, she said, "My pen can NEVER be silenced. Ironic that I conducted a seminar yesterday, here in the US, on the attack on the free press in India. I will continue to raise my voice against the persecution of the marginalised in the country" and posted a statement also.
"I am confident that this abuse of process by the ED will not withstand judicial scrutiny. I too will not be deterred from performing my role as a journalist," she said.
The ED alleged that 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 investigation by the ED has "established that Ms Rana Ayyub had launched the aforesaid campaigns with the sole intention to cheat the general public and acquired proceeds of crime in form of FD and balances in bank accounts projecting them as untainted", the agency said.
The money laundering case against her stems from a September, 2021 FIR of Ghaziabad Police related to alleged irregularities in donor funds.
Ayyub was also stopped by the ED from taking a flight to London from the Mumbai airport in March as the agency had then opened a 'Look out Circular' against her.