New Delhi: The Westminister court in the United Kingdom on Monday cleared the extradition of controversial arms dealer Sanjay Bhandari to India.

Sanjay Bhandari’s extradition has been ordered in a money laundering case

Sanjay Bhandari’s extradition has been ordered in a money laundering case being probed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED). The agency was fighting the case in UK court on behalf of the Indian government.

The ED had initiated its investigation after a complaint under the Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign Income & Assets) and Imposition of Act, 2015 [Black Money Act] was filed against accused Sanjay Bhandari before the court by Income Tax authorities.

Earlier, a designated court in Delhi had directed the ED to expedite the extradition of Sanjay Bhandari from the UK.

The ED had filed a chargesheet on June 1, 2020 against Sanjay Bhandari and other co-conspirators, including various companies floated by him in the overseas jurisdiction.

“It was revealed that accused Sanjay Bhandari stashed black money abroad with the assistance of his accomplices to evade taxes causing huge financial loss to the national exchequer,” the ED had said earlier.

The Income Tax Department probe, according to sources, had established links between Robert Vadra and Sanjay Bhandari. Robert Vadra is the brother-in-law of former Congress president Rahul Gandhi.

Bhandari, who was questioned by the Income Tax Department on April 30, 2016, was asked by the interrogators about Robert Vadra’s France trip in 2012.

According to the probe agency, during the course of the investigation, it was revealed that Sanjay Bhandari owned assets in various foreign jurisdictions, incorporated various entities in the UAE as a beneficial owner and also had a financial interest in an entity incorporated in Panama. It was also alleged by the ED that all those foreign assets and entities were not disclosed by Sanjay Bhandari to Income Tax authorities in India.

The Rouse Avenue Court on October 15, 2020 took cognisance of the prosecution complaint filed by the ED against Sanjay Bhandari and other co-conspirators.