New Delhi [India], June 17 (ANI): Businessman Robert Vadra, summoned by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with an ongoing money laundering investigation, did not appear before the agency on Tuesday, sources close to him confirmed. According to these sources, Vadra is currently traveling abroad and has conveyed that he will join the investigation upon his return to India.
On June 12, Vadra’s legal counsel, Advocate Suman Jyoti Khaitan, addressed the media in a virtual press conference to clarify the reasons behind his client’s absence. Khaitan emphasized that media reports suggesting Vadra was evading ED summons were misleading and incorrect.
“Vadra had developed flu-like symptoms and was advised to undergo a COVID-19 test, which he has since taken. He is following all necessary health protocols,” Khaitan stated, while reiterating Vadra’s willingness to cooperate with the probe.
Khaitan further noted that Vadra had previously offered to join the investigation through virtual means and had submitted substantial documentation to the agency. He also recalled Vadra’s prior cooperation, including a three-day questioning session in April, in a separate case concerning a 2008 Haryana land deal.
The current summons relates to a money laundering case involving UK-based arms dealer Sanjay Bhandari. According to the ED, Bhandari allegedly purchased and renovated a property at 12, Bryanston Square in London on Vadra’s instructions and with his financial support—an allegation that Vadra has strongly denied, calling the entire case a “political witch hunt” intended to harass him.
Vadra, who is married to Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, recently sought a deferment of the summons, and sources say he will be given a new date to record his statement under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
The ED is also investigating Vadra in another money laundering case tied to land transactions in Bikaner, Rajasthan, where both he and his mother have previously been questioned. (ANI)
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