ED Arrests Gujarat-Based Journalist Mahesh Langa In Money Laundering Case

Ahmedabad: The Enforcement Directorate Tuesday said it has arrested a Gujarat-based journalist in a money laundering investigation linked to an alleged financial fraud.

Mahesh Langa, a correspondent for The Hindu newspaper in Gujarat, was taken into custody and produced before a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) Court in Ahmedabad, the federal probe agency said in a statement.

The court sent Mahesh Prabhudan Langa to ED custody till February 28, it said.

The money laundering case against Langa stems from two FIRs filed by the Ahmedabad Police on charges of committing fraud, criminal misappropriation, criminal breach of trust, cheating and causing wrongful loss of lakhs of rupees to certain people.

Langa's lawyer had earlier denied the charges made against him. He was earlier arrested by the Gujarat Police.

The reporter, as per the ED, was found to have engaged in multiple "fraudulent" financial transactions involving large sums of money.

It alleged that his financial dealings involved "extortion" from various individuals, constant manipulation, and "use of media influence." The federal probe agency claimed that Langa was involved in a GST Input Tax Credit "scam", which is also being investigated by the ED.

"Langa has tried to manipulate and obscure the true nature of financial transactions involved in cheating and GST Input Tax Credit scam. The inconsistencies in his statement raised further suspicion about his attempts to hide the origins and purpose of the utilisation of funds," the agency alleged.