New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has filed a case against media baron and Quint founder Raghav Bahl under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

The case was filed on the basis of findings of the Income Tax department in a case pertaining to alleged tax evasion after raiding his house and other related locations in October last year.

The IT Department had, on October 11, searched Bahl’s premises. Sleuths from the IT department had raided the residence of Bahl in neighbouring Noida early morning and searched for documents and other evidence related to the case under probe.

Allegedly Bahl used his shell company to launder money and evade tax — the promoter of PMC Fincorp has admitted to tax officials under oath.

Also Read: Raghav Bahl, wife Ritu Kapur laundered Rs 100 crore using my shell company: PMC Fincorp owner

Earlier, MyNation had exclusively accessed the damning testimony of Raj Kumar Modi, who allegedly did the black-to-white money conversion for Bahl and his wife Ritu Kapur.

Also read: Income Tax evasion case: BJP leader shows documents supporting allegations against Raghav Bahl

Modi named Bahl and his wife, among others, as the major beneficiaries of his money laundering operations through PMC Fincorp. “So far as I remember, Ritu Kapoor and Raghav Bahl got Rs 100 crore converted,” Modi said in his statement.

Also read: Quint founder Raghav Bahl under I-T scrutiny for alleged tax evasion; residence, office raided

Modi’s testimony seriously undermines Bahl’s allegation that income tax raids on his establishments were baseless and done because he was critical of the BJP government.

Also read: Quint employee wishes death for ailing BJP chief Amit Shah; netizens boycott website en masse

PMC Fincorp is a ‘penny stock’ or ‘briefcase company’ that exists only on paper without any actual assets or operations. He used it for money laundering.

Bahl's explanation

Bahl in turn released his side of the story as he circulated a letter written to the newly-appointed Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. Bahl said the action by the ED — Registering of ECIR, equivalent to an FIR under PMLA on the basis of prosecution complaints filed by IT department — Kafkaesque.

He said he was being “hounded” “despite paying all taxes honestly and diligently”. He added that the IT department did not take his answers to their queries into consideration while “two complaints were registered before a court in Meerut on May 3, 2019 itself (a clear violation of the principles of natural justice).”

“In light of the full disclosures made by me and my wife in our returns which address the legal issues in the notices, I have already challenged the show cause notices and subsequent acts in a writ petition before the Allahabad High Court, which will hear the matter on May 25, 2019 after receiving reply from the I-T Department,” he wrote in the letter.