Money laundering charges framed against TMC MP Saket Gokhale, says ED

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

"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 central agency 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.

"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, 2002 in abeyance till the case of scheduled offence registered against him is decided by the court, the ED said.

The money laundering case against Gokhale stems from a Gujarat Police FIR.

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 had informed the court that "huge amounts of money collected through crowd funding (by Gokhale) has been splurged on speculative share trading, wining and dining and other personal expenses which appear to be extravagant in nature".

Gokhale, however, had denied that he misused these funds.