New Delhi: In a major escalation, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday filed a supplementary charge sheet in a Delhi court naming businessman Robert Vadra, husband of Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, as an accused in a high-profile money laundering case linked to fugitive arms dealer and defence middleman Sanjay Bhandari.
The probe agency alleges that Vadra received kickbacks and illicit funds routed through Bhandari, who fled India in 2016 amid investigations into violations of the Official Secrets Act and corruption in defence deals. The ED claims Vadra acquired and renovated a luxury London property at 12 Bryanston Square using proceeds of crime generated by Bhandari.
Sources say the charge sheet details hawala transactions, shell companies in tax havens, and dubious property deals worth several crores. Vadra has been questioned multiple times by the agency since 2018, but this is the first time he has been formally chargesheeted in the Bhandari case.
The Congress, which has repeatedly accused the Modi government of misusing central agencies against opposition leaders, faces fresh embarrassment over this development. Vadra dismissed the charges as a “political vendetta”, vowing to fight legally.
With the case now heading for trial, the spotlight intensifies on one of India’s most high-profile political families.