Daijiworld Media Network - New Delhi

New Delhi, Jul 14: Businessman Robert Vadra, husband of Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, appeared before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Monday in connection with a money laundering probe linked to two high-value properties in London.

Vadra spent about two hours at the ED’s office but declined to comment to the media after the session. He has previously accused the agency of harassment, maintaining that he has "nothing to hide."

The ED suspects that Vadra benefited from benami ownership of two London properties — one at Grosvenor Hill Court, 13 Bourdon Street, and another at 19 Bryanston Square — allegedly acquired in collusion with UK-based arms consultant Sanjay Bhandari. The agency claims these properties are part of a 2016 money laundering case and constitute proceeds of crime.

According to investigators, Vadra had stayed at the Bryanston Square flat during visits to London and allegedly funded renovations at the property in 2009, with Bhandari acting as a front.

The case gained momentum after recent developments in Bhandari’s legal status. On July 5, a Delhi court declared Bhandari a fugitive economic offender under the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, 2018, following the UK’s refusal to extradite him.

Bhandari, who left India in 2016, is accused of concealing overseas assets, filing false disclosures, and using backdated documents to mask financial dealings. The ED filed a chargesheet against him in 2020, following leads from the Income Tax Department under anti-black money provisions.

With Bhandari now formally designated a fugitive, the ED is moving to seize and attach his properties, including those allegedly linked to Vadra.

The high-profile case remains politically sensitive, with Vadra repeatedly asserting that the accusations are politically motivated and aimed at tarnishing the image of the Congress leadership.