Rana Ayyub put Rs 50 lakh in Fixed Deposit from crores raised for relief work
India Today
According to ED, Rana Ayyub, a senior journalist allegedly set aside Rs 50 lakh from Rs 2.77 crore she had raised for relief work to open a fixed deposit (FD) account in her name.
Rana Ayyub, a senior journalist, allegedly set aside Rs 50 lakh from Rs 2.77 crore she had 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.
The ED, which began a probe based on an FIR by the Uttar Pradesh Police, had summoned Rana Ayyub on December 15, 2021 under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) as part of the probe.
Appearing before ED, Rana Ayyub had claimed that the money in the FD account “was earmarked for hospital but since the NGOs and elected members they were reaching out to developed cold feet due to existing government intimidation against her, it could not be done."
The FD account was opened on May 19, 2020 as the world struggled with a pandemic that led to a global lockdown.
In her statement to the federal agency, Ayyub had pinned the new account on a bank manager, saying that “her bank manager, who knew she was working for a noble cause, suggested her to make an FD of Rs 50 lakh as the FD would earn interest and that would give additional money for the hospital”.
The manager has denied advising Rana Ayyub on the matter before the agency.
