ED summons 3 top fashion designers with congress link in PMLA case

New Delhi:The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday summoned three top fashion designers of the country under the Prevention of Money laundering Act (PMLA) in connection with a case involving Punjab Congress MLA Sukhpal Singh Khaira, sources said here on Wednesday.

The designers have been asked to appear for questioning before the ED investigators in the National Capital by next week for clarifications regarding certain cash payments they allegedly received.

Names of the designers have been withheld by the probe agency so far.The summons relate to a money-laundering case against Khaira and his family members. The agency had conducted searches against the accused in March and he was charged with being an “associate” of drug case convicts and fake passport racketeers, the sources further said.

Khaira was a rebel Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA when the raids were carried out. He has recently re-joined the Congress. He won the election from the Bholath Assembly seat in Punjab’s Kapurthala district in 2017 on an AAP ticket.

The 56-year-old politician has already denied his involvement and alleged that he was being targeted by central agencies for being vocal against the Centre’s three contentious farm laws.

The case against him pertains to the probe in a 2015 Fazilka (Punjab) drugs-smuggling case in which 1,800 gram of heroin, 24 gold biscuits, two weapons, 26 live cartridges and two Pakistani SIM cards were seized by security agencies from a gang of international drug smugglers.

The ED had filed the case under sections of the PMLA against Khaira and others after studying a Punjab Police FIR.(UNI)