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ED questions Louise Khurshid in money laundering case
The officials said Louise Khurshid has been questioned in a money-laundering case related to alleged misuse of government funds in distribution of artificial limbs and equipment by a trust headed by her
Senior lawyer and Congress leader Salman Khurshid’s wife Louise Khurshid was questioned for multiple hours by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) at its Lucknow unit office on Ashok Marg in Hazratganj on Thursday, confirmed senior ED officials.
The officials said Louise Khurshid has been questioned in a money-laundering case related to alleged misuse of government funds in distribution of artificial limbs and equipment by a trust headed by her. They said earlier the ED had issued summon to her on February 10 for questioning in the case of Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) case to depose at the ED zonal office in Lucknow on Thursday to record her statement in the matter.
Two days ago, an MP-MLA court in Uttar Pradesh’s Bareilly issued an arrest warrant against Louise Khurshid and another accused in this case and fixed February 16 (Friday) as the next date of hearing. Salman Khurshid served as a union minister in the UPA government.
The ED has registered the PMLA case based on 17 FIRs registered with the UP police in connection with the alleged misuse of government funds worth ₹70 lakh in distribution of artificial limbs and equipment by a trust headed by her.
A senior ED official further said that multiple camps for distribution of artificial limbs and equipment were organised by Dr Zakir Hussain Memorial Trust for Disabled Persons, run by Dr Zakir Hussain Memorial Trust of Louise Khurshid in Bareilly during 2009-10. The state government got the matter investigated after receiving allegations of discrepancies and found that government funds were misused by using fake seals and signatures.
He said there were three main accused in the case, including project manager of the trust Louise Khurshid, the trust’s representative Pratyush Shukla and its secretary Athar Farooqui. He said Shukla died a few years ago after which the ED recorded the statement of Shukla’s wife and some others in the case. He said the state police had filed a charge sheet against both the accused in the Bareilly court in December 2019.
