The Enforcement Directorate (ED) announced on Tuesday that a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court in Ahmedabad has formally charged TMC Rajya Sabha MP Saket Gokhale with money laundering. The court framed criminal charges against Gokhale, a national spokesperson for the All India Trinamool Congress, under the provisions of the PMLA, 2002.
The case against Gokhale, a 31-year-old MP, originated from a First Information Report (FIR) filed by the Gujarat Police. The FIR alleged that Gokhale misused funds he collected through crowdfunding, presenting himself as an RTI activist and social worker. A charge sheet was previously filed against him under the anti-money laundering law in 2023. The ED stated that the PMLA court also rejected Gokhale’s application to delay the proceedings until the resolution of a separate case concerning the alleged scheduled offense registered against him by Gujarat Police.
Gokhale’s arrest by the state police in December 2022 stemmed from the same allegations of misuse of crowdfunded money. According to the ED, the funds were used for personal expenses like intraday share trading, credit card payments, online shopping, cryptocurrency trading, and other miscellaneous transactions. Gokhale has denied any wrongdoing.
In addition to the money laundering charges, Gokhale is facing a defamation case in the Delhi High Court. In July, the court ordered Gokhale to pay ₹50 lakhs in damages to Lakshmi Puri, wife of Union Minister Hardeep Puri, for defamatory statements made on social media.
