The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has filed a fresh chargesheet against businessman Robert Vadra in a money laundering case involving UK-based defense dealer Sanjay Bhandari. Vadra, husband of Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi, is under the ED scanner in three separate money laundering cases, two of which relate to alleged irregularities in land deals in Haryana and Rajasthan. In April, he was questioned for three consecutive days in connection with the 2008 Haryana land deal. Another case pertains to alleged financial irregularities in a land deal in Bikaner, Rajasthan.
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The case pertains to the ED’s findings recorded in its 2023 charge sheet, which alleges that Sanjay Bhandari acquired a property at 12, Bryanston Square in London in 2009 and got it “renovated as per the instructions of Vadra and the funds for the renovation were provided by Robert Vadra.” The chargesheet claims that Vadra had provided funds for the renovation. However, Vadra has consistently denied direct or indirect ownership of any property in London and has described the allegations as politically motivated. He has said that he is being “harassed and harassed” to serve political purposes.
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Sanjay Bhandari, 63, had fled India after raids in Delhi by the Income Tax Department in 2016. Earlier this year, a Delhi court had declared him a fugitive economic offender. Following Bhandari’s acquittal in the extradition case, a UK court rejected India’s petition to appeal to the British Supreme Court, significantly reducing his chances of returning to India to face legal proceedings.