‘Afterthought’: ED says Rana Ayyub donated to PM CARES after Income Tax probe
India Today
Rana Ayyub transferred the amount to PM CARES fund 20 days after the ED and Income Tax Dept began their probe into her finances, says the ED.
Rana Ayyub had donated Rs 74.5 lakh to PM CARES fund and to chief ministers' relief funds as an "afterthought", the Enforcement Directorate (ED) wrote in a document accessed by India Today.
A senior journalist and vociferous critic of the central government, Rana Ayyub transferred the amount to the PM CARES and CM Relief funds 20 days after the ED and the Income Tax began their investigations into her finances, read the ED document.
It went on to say, "The transfer of the said funds into PM Care Funds and CM Relief Funds was an afterthought.
"The direct donations to the PM Care/CM Relief Funds could also be done by the individual donors instead of donating to the campaigns launched by Rana Ayyub. It is clear that the donors had donated funds for the specific campaigns launched by Rana Ayyub but she did not use those funds for the specific purpose and kept them idle in her bank accounts and in the bank account of her father."
The Enforcement Directorate has accused journalist Rana Ayyub of attempting to "project the funds (proceeds of crime in this case) as untainted by receiving the funds in the bank account wherein her professional earnings were (sic) also being received".
Rana Ayyub has "cheated the general public donor", the ED wrote in its order copy.
Rana Ayyub also allegedly set aside Rs 50 lakh from Rs 2.77 crore raised for relief work to open a fixed deposit (FD) account in her name, the Enforcement Directorate has found. The agency suspects the journalist salted away the amount for her personal expenses, sources told India Today.
