ED Files Prosecution Complaint Against Langa

The Enforcement Directorate (ED), Ahmedabad Zonal office, has filed a prosecution complaint against journalist Mahesh Prabhudan Langa under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.

The complaint was submitted before the Special PMLA court in Ahmedabad on April 17, and the court took cognizance of the matter on the same day. The ED made this development public via a press statement issued on Monday.

The money laundering investigation was initiated based on multiple FIRs. The first was lodged at the Detection of Crime Branch (DCB) police station, Ahmedabad, in October last year, stemming from a complaint by the Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGI).

It pertained to Dhruvi Enterprise, a firm accused of fraudulently claiming input tax credit under GST through fake invoices without the actual supply of goods between February and May 2023.

A second FIR, filed by the Satellite police station, accused Langa of extortion. Both cases were taken up by the ED as part of a broader probe into alleged financial irregularities.

Langa was arrested in February this year by the ED under Section 19 of the PMLA and remains in judicial custody.

According to the ED, the journalist allegedly leveraged his media connections to extort money from various individuals by threatening to publish defamatory news articles unless they paid him large sums. This alleged method of media manipulation reportedly led to financial losses amounting to several lakhs of rupees for the complainants.

The agency stated that its investigation has established a money trail linked to the proceeds of crime allegedly generated by Langa. On April 9, the ED issued a provisional attachment order to seize an immovable asset—an office space located in Ahmedabad—believed to have been acquired through illicit means.

(with inputs from IANS)

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