Journalist Rana Ayyub was on Tuesday stopped by immigration officials at Mumbai airport while she was on her way to board a flight to London, on the basis of a Look-out Circular (LoC) issued by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) as she allegedly failed to comply with the agency’s summons.
“I was stopped today at the Indian immigration while I was about to board my flight to London to deliver my speech on the intimidation of journalists with @ICFJ . I was to travel to Italy right after to deliver the keynote address at the @journalismfest on the Indian democracy,” Ms. Ayyub tweeted.
She said: “All these events with @julieposetti @DoughtyStIntl @journalismfest have been planned and publicised all over my social media for weeks. Yet, curiously the Enforcement Directorate summon arrived in my mail much after I was stopped at the immigration. What do you fear ?”
Confirming that Ms. Ayyub was stopped at the airport on the strength of an LoC issued by the ED, an official said the immigration authorities intimated the agency about it. “The LoC was issued as she had failed to comply with the ED’s summonses. She is required to join the probe,” said the official.
Last month, the ED had attached assets worth over ₹1.77 crore in connection with a case involving Ms. Ayyub, based on a case registered by the Indirapuram Police Station in Uttar Pradesh’s Ghaziabad against her. She has denied the allegations.
She has been accused of illegally acquiring money from the general public in the name of charity. It was alleged that she raised amounts running into crores of rupees via Ketto, an online crowd funding platform, in three campaigns.
The funds had been collected for slum dwellers and farmers during April-May 2020; relief work for Assam, Bihar and Maharashtra during June-September 2020; and help for COVID-19 impacted people during May-June 2021.
“Funds totalling ₹2,69,44,680 were raised on Ketto by Rana Ayyub. These funds were withdrawn in the bank accounts of her sister/father. Of this amount, ₹72,01,786 was withdrawn in her own bank account,” the agency had earlier said.
Over ₹37 lakh was withdrawn in her sister Iffat Shaikh’s account and over ₹1.60 crore in her father Mohd. Ayyub Waquif’s bank account. All the funds were transferred to her own account, as alleged.
Ms. Ayyub submitted papers related to expenses involving ₹31.16 lakh. However, after verification of the claimed expenses, the agency found that the actual expenditure allegedly was ₹17.66 lakh.
“Fake bills were found to have been prepared by Ms. Ayyub in the name of some entities to claim expenses on relief work. Expenses made for personal travel by air were claimed as expense for relief work,” as alleged by the ED.
The ED has alleged that funds were raised on the pretext of charity in a pre-planned manner and they were not used completely for the stated purpose.
