Money laundering charges framed against TMC MP Saket Gokhale: ED

New Delhi: A special PMLA court in Ahmedabad framed criminal charges under the anti-money laundering law against TMC's Rajya Sabha MP Saket Gokhale on Tuesday, the Enforcement Directorate said.

The money laundering case against Gokhale stems from a Gujarat Police FIR filed in connection with alleged misuse of money he had collected through crowd-funding.

"The Ld. Principal District and Sessions Judge, Ahmedabad (Rural) and designated Special Court PMLA, Ahmedabad today framed criminal charges against Saket Gokhale, MP Rajya Sabha and national spokesperson of All India Trinamool Congress under the provisions of Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002...," the ED said in a statement.

It said a charge sheet was filed against the 31-year-old MP under the anti-money laundering law last year. The ED had arrested him in January, 2023.

"Charges against him for the scheduled offence in the police case (Gujarat Police) had also been framed," it said.

The special court had also rejected the application filed by Gokhale under Section 309 of the CrPC for keeping the proceedings under PMLA in abeyance till the case of scheduled offence registered against him is decided by the court, the ED said.

The state police had arrested Gokhale from Delhi in December 2022 in a case of alleged misuse of money he had collected through crowd-funding.

The ED said he was arrested for the offence of money laundering as he crowdfunded money from the public as he "portrayed himself" as an RTI activist and a social worker.

"The crowdfunded amount was utilised by him for his personal expenses such as intraday trading in shares, payment of his credit card dues, shopping through online apps such as Paytm, Swiggy, Zomato, crypto currency trading and other miscellaneous (transactions)," it said.

Gokhale had denied that he misused these funds.