The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday provisionally hooked up Rs 1.77 crore belonging to journalist Rana Ayyub in reference to a case of cash laundering.
The ED case is predicated on an FIR registered by UP police final 12 months, the place it was alleged that Ayyub collected an enormous quantity of funds by means of on-line crowd funding platform Ketto within the identify of reduction work however allegedly diverted the funds.
Phone calls, texts and WhatsApp messages to Ayyub didn’t elicit a response.
The FIR was registered in September final 12 months at Indirapuram police station in Ghaziabad, on a grievance from one Vikas Sankrityayan. Besides Sections of IPC and IT Act, police additionally invoked Section 4 of Black Money Act, alleging that she illegally acquired cash from the general public within the identify of charity.
In an announcement, ED stated its probe makes it “clear that funds were raised in the name of charity in a pre-planned and systematic manner and the funds were not utilized completely” for the aim with which they have been raised.
The probe discovered that Ayyub allegedly parked some funds by opening a separate present checking account, ED acknowledged. “Ms. Rana Ayyub also created a Fixed Deposit of Rs 50 lakh from funds raised on Ketto and did not utilize these for relief works,” it stated. “She deposited Rs 74.50 lakh in PM Cares fund and CM Relief Fund.”
“Accordingly… proceeds of crime are quantified as Rs.1,77,27,704 and interest generated upon FD of Rs 50 lakh,” it stated. The cash hooked up by ED is within the type of financial institution deposits in three totally different accounts.
As per the grievance, Ketto, in an e mail to donors in August 2021, had stated that it was knowledgeable by regulation enforcement businesses that the funds (partly or totally) raised within the three campaigns began by Ayyub weren’t utilized for the aim for which they have been raised and (partly) are nonetheless within the accounts of the respective campaigns.
According to Ketto’s e mail to donors, Ayyub had began three campaigns — for slum dwellers and farmers; reduction work for Assam, Bihar and Maharashtra; and assist to these impacted by Covid-19.
The ED assertion stated: “Funds totaling Rs 2,69,44,680 were raised on Ketto by Rana Ayyub. These funds were withdrawn in the bank accounts of her sister/father. Out of this amount, Rs 72,01,786 was withdrawn in her own bank account, Rs 37,15,072 was withdrawn in her sister Iffat Shaikh’s account and Rs 1,60,27,822 was withdrawn in her father Mohd Ayyub Waquif’s bank account. All these funds from her sister’s and father’s account were later transferred in her own account.”
The ED acknowledged that Ayyub submitted data and paperwork of expense to the tune of Rs. 31,16,770. “However, after verification of the claimed expenses, it surfaced that the actual expenses to the tune of Rs 17,66,970,” the company acknowledged. “Fake bills were found to have been prepared by Ms. Rana Ayyub in the name of some entities to claim expenses on relief work. Expenses made for personal travel by air were claimed as expense for relief work.”
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With inputs from TheIndianEXPRESS
