The Enforcement Directorate on Saturday said it has attached a Delhi-based journalist’s residential property worth Rs 48.21 lakh in connection with a money laundering probe linked to the alleged leakage and supply of sensitive information to Chinese intelligence officers.
A provisional order has been issued under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) to attach the property of freelance journalist Rajeev Sharma in the national capital’s Pitampura area, the ED said in a statement.
Sharma, who was arrested by the agency in July last year, was granted bail in the case by the Delhi High Court last week.
The agency said its probe found that “Sharma had supplied confidential and sensitive information to Chinese intelligence officers, in exchange for remuneration thereby compromising the security and national interests of the country”.
“Such remuneration to Rajeev Sharma was being provided by a Mahipalpur based shell company that was run by Chinese nationals like Zhang Cheng alias Suraj, Zhang Lixia alias Usha and Qing Shi along with a Nepali national Sher Singh alias Raj Bohara.
“This Chinese company was acting as a conduit for the Chinese intelligence agencies to provide remuneration for persons like Rajeev Sharma…,” the ED said in the statement.
The remuneration, it claimed, was being paid in cash through carriers as well as through cash deposits.
“Sharma also received money using the bank account of his friend in order to conceal his involvement in criminal activities. In addition to obtaining remunerations in cash, he also received remuneration in kind in the form of various paid foreign trips which were arranged by the Chinese intelligence agents,” the ED alleged.
The agency’s case is based on a Delhi Police FIR filed under the Official Secrets Act and various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) against Sharma in 2020.
The journalist was arrested by the special cell of the Delhi Police on September 14, 2020 and charged with passing on information about the Indian Army’s deployment and the country’s border strategy to Chinese intelligence officers.
The ED had also filed a chargesheet in this case last year.
(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Dear Reader,
Business Standard has always strived hard to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that are of interest to you and have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. Your encouragement and constant feedback on how to improve our offering have only made our resolve and commitment to these ideals stronger. Even during these difficult times arising out of Covid-19, we continue to remain committed to keeping you informed and updated with credible news, authoritative views and incisive commentary on topical issues of relevance.
We, however, have a request.
As we battle the economic impact of the pandemic, we need your support even more, so that we can continue to offer you more quality content. Our subscription model has seen an encouraging response from many of you, who have subscribed to our online content. More subscription to our online content can only help us achieve the goals of offering you even better and more relevant content. We believe in free, fair and credible journalism. Your support through more subscriptions can help us practise the journalism to which we are committed.
Support quality journalism and subscribe to Business Standard.
Digital Editor
Source link
