ED attaches assets worth Rs 26.65-cr of journalist Upendra Rai in PMLA case

The Enforcement Directorate today said it has attached assets worth Rs 26.65 crore of journalist Upendra Rai in connection with a money laundering and alleged extortion case against him.

"The attached assets include high-end cars, flats and investments in mutual funds and bank deposits," the central probe agency said.

A provisional order for attachment has been issued against Rai and others under the PMLA, a senior officials said adding the total value of the properties is Rs 26.65 crore.

Rai was arrested on June 8 by the Enforcement Directorate under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) at the Tihar Jail here, moments after he secured bail in a Central Bureau of Investigation case related to alleged extortion and dubious financial transactions.

Before that, he was arrested by the CBI on May 3 for allegedly indulging in dubious financial transactions, getting an airport access pass made by the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) by furnishing false information, alleged extortion and manipulation of an Income Tax Department case against a Mumbai-bound businessman.

The ED had registered a money laundering case against him based on the CBI FIR.

In its FIR, the CBI has alleged that going by the value of transactions of over Rs 1 lakh each during 2017, Rai's accounts received Rs 79 crore while Rs 78.51 crore was debited from it during the period.