New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate has questioned and recorded the statement of Alankar Sawai, a close aide of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, in a money laundering case in which TMC spokesperson Saket Gokhale was recently arrested by the agency in Gujarat, officials said, as reported by the news agency PTI.


The officials also said that Sawai was questioned and confronted with Gokhale in Ahmedabad three days earlier this week. Sawai is stated to be heading Rahul Gandhi's research team. The agency summoned Sawai after arresting Gokhale on January 25 while he was in the Gujarat Police's custody in connection with alleged financial irregularities in raising funds through a crowd funding platform. Last month, ED arrested Gokhale. After arrest, Gokhale was produced in court in Ahmedabad which granted him to 5-day ED remand.


The TMC Spokesperson was lodged in jail after he was arrested by the Cyber Crime Branch of Ahmedabad Police from Delhi on December 30 last year in connection with the alleged misappropriation of crowdfunded funds in Gujarat.


While seeking Gokhale's remand on that day, ED had informed an Ahmedabad court that the crowdfunding asked for about Rs 23.54 lakh deposited in his bank account in cash over a year, Gokhale had told the agency that "this amount was given in cash by Alankar Sawai of the India National Congress for social media work and other consultancy," as reported by PTI.


Gokhale, on being asked as to why Sawai had paid him in cash said that only Sawai can answer this question, the ED told the court in its remand paper. The news agency IANS is in possession of ED documents which suggests that the probe agency is having doubts on his claims.


"Further, on being asked regarding any written agreement with Alankar Sawai in respect of social media work he stated that it was an only verbal agreement with Alankar Sawai," the agency said, as quoted by PTI.


According to IANS, during the questioning, Sawai denied that any payment was made to Gokhale. The ED sources close to IANS said that there is no proof as of now to prove that he made the payment and they will confront him together with Gokhale.


"The money was deposited in November 2021 whereas he joined the Trinamool Congress in August 2021. In such case why he will promote Congress party? This is the reason we doubt his ststement," the sources said, as quoted by IANS. Funds raised through the campaign "Support Saket in his transparency battle" were used for his sustenance and other social cause activities.


The ED has also alleged that the funds were used for helping his father Suhas Gokhale with his health and legal expenses relating to his promotion, IANS reported.


The ED alleged that these cash deposits were received by Gokhale when he was a member of the Trinamool Congress (TMC). The questioning and confronting of the two has not helped them unearth the fund trail as stated by Gokhale even as Sawai purportedly denied making any cash payments, PTI reported citing official sources. The money laundering case against Gokhale stems from a Gujarat Police FIR.


The state police arrested Gokhale from Delhi in December last year in a case of alleged misuse of money he had collected through crowd-funding. Sawai has been questioned about these instances and the statement was recorded under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, PTI reported.


The ED had informed the Ahmedabad court that a "huge amount of money collected through crowdfunding (by Gokhale) has been splurged on speculative share trading, wining and dining and other personal expenses which appear to be extravagant in nature." Gokhale, however, had denied that he misused these funds.