ED files second supplementary chargesheet naming Robert Vadra as accused for allegedly assisting Sanjay Bhandari in laundering money through a London property
Case stems from 2016 I-T raids on Bhandari, a fugitive defence dealer accused of kickbacks routed via UAE shells
Third overall chargesheet against Vadra, including prior ones on Gurgaon land deal
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday filed a second supplementary prosecution complaint before a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court in Delhi's Rouse Avenue, formally naming businessman Robert Vadra as an accused in the money laundering probe linked to UK-based defence dealer Sanjay Bhandari.
The case originates from Income Tax raids on Bhandari in 2016, after which he fled to London and was later declared a fugitive economic offender by a Delhi court in July 2019. Bhandari, a 63-year-old arms consultant, is accused of receiving kickbacks in defence deals, including those involving the Pilatus trainer aircraft, and routing illicit funds through UAE-registered shell companies into properties in the UK and Dubai between 2009 and 2016.
The ED's investigation, initiated in February 2017 based on an I-T chargesheet under the Black Money Act, alleges that Vadra, husband of Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, assisted Bhandari in laundering proceeds of crime. Key evidence points to a luxury property at 12 Bryanston Square in London, acquired by Bhandari in 2009, which was renovated as per Vadra's directions using funds provided by him. Vadra's statement under PMLA was recorded in July 2025, where he was confronted with international evidence but reportedly gave unsatisfactory replies.
This is the third chargesheet against Vadra overall; the ED had previously filed two in the Bhandari case (2020 and 2023) without naming him directly, and another in July 2025 related to a Rs 58-crore land deal in Gurgaon involving Skylight Hospitality Pvt Ltd. The agency claims these transactions formed part of a broader network of offshore dealings. Vadra, who received anticipatory bail in 2019, has denied owning any London property directly or indirectly and faces scrutiny in three separate ED probes.
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The filing, presented by ED Special Public Prosecutor Naveen Kumar Matta, revives a probe that has simmered for years amid political controversy, with the Congress dismissing it as vendetta politics. Bhandari's extradition efforts by India have been rejected by UK courts, complicating the case furthe
