Sanjay Bhandari Money Laundering Case: ED Files Chargesheet Against Robert Vadra

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has filed a chargesheet against businessman Robert Vadra, husband of Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, in connection with the Sanjay Bhandari-linked money laundering case.

The case dates back to 2016, when income-tax authorities conducted raids related to a London property and associated financial dealings. Vadra has consistently denied all allegations, calling the investigation a politically motivated probe.

The ED’s case is linked to UK-based defence consultant Sanjay Bhandari, against whom the agency had filed earlier complaints. This is now the second money-laundering case against Vadra. In July, the ED filed a separate prosecution complaint against him over alleged irregularities in a land deal in Shikohpur, Haryana.

According to officials, Vadra’s statement under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) was recorded in July this year. He has been questioned multiple times in connection with the Bhandari probe. The agency alleges Vadra is linked to overseas properties and financial transactions associated with Bhandari, who is accused of holding undisclosed assets abroad.

The investigation stems from the 2016 income-tax raids on Bhandari, which allegedly unearthed emails and documents indicating his connection with Vadra and his associates. These materials reportedly referenced the renovation of a London property believed to belong to Bhandari, which investigators claim was refurbished based on Vadra’s instructions and executed through intermediaries.

Bhandari, now 63, fled to London soon after the raids and was declared a fugitive economic offender by a Delhi court. A UK court later rejected India’s extradition request. The ED had filed a criminal case against him and others under the PMLA in February 2017, relying on an income-tax chargesheet under the Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets) Act, 2015.

Over the years, the ED has filed two charge sheets against Bhandari and also examined land transactions in Haryana involving Vadra, Bhandari, and individuals associated with both. Investigators allege these deals were part of a larger network used to route funds and acquire assets.

The agency has previously attached several properties in India linked to Vadra or entities connected to him, claiming they represent proceeds of crime generated through Bhandari’s offshore activities.

Vadra, 56, has repeatedly rejected the allegations, maintaining that he does not own any London property, directly or indirectly, and calling the ED’s interpretation of the documents “misleading” and politically driven.