Conman accused of money laundering asks judge in court to prosecute businessman Gaurav Dalmia and his wife too

Sanjay Prakash Rai, also known as Sanjay Sherpuria, is accused of being a con artist. On Monday, he asked a Delhi court to bring charges against businessman Gaurav Dalmia and his spouse Sharmila for money laundering. Rai submitted the information during the case hearing about his bail request. According to the Enforcement Directorate, Rai “duped” Gaurav Dalmia and his family out of Rs 12 crore by instilling in him the fear of being arrested in connection with an ongoing investigation by the ED. Rai deceived multiple people by claiming to be close to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), senior bureaucrats, and politicians. The ED claimed that in January 2023, a sum of Rs 6 crore from the total was purportedly received in the bank account of the Youth Rural Entrepreneur Foundation (YREF), to which Rai was a signatory, from the Dalmia Family Office Trust, a trustee of which is Gaurav Dalmia. In order to hide the true nature of the transactions, Rai is accused of forging documents pertaining to the payment. The accused’s attorney, Nitesh Rana, informed the court that his client could not be prosecuted on his own. Gaurav Dalmia, Sharmila Dalmia, and the son of the Dalmia group have all committed money laundering offences if Sanjay Rai Sherpuria has committed them as well. Prosecution of Sanjay Rai Sherpuria alone is not possible. Rana begged the court to prosecute the Dalmia family as well. The counsel claimed the entire case was a “figment of imagination” of the investigating agency and there was no evidence against Rai. He told the court the accused was no longer required for investigation since the probe was already complete and the charge sheet filed. The counsel told the court that Rai will abide by any condition imposed upon him if he got bail. The ED had on August 2 filed the charge sheet against Rai under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The money laundering case stems from an FIR registered by Lucknow Police alleging that Rai projected himself as close to senior politicians and bureaucrats, and duped the general public of big sums of money. He also claimed he was an influencer, a social worker and associated with the PMO. The ED had arrested Rai a few months ago after it conducted searches at 42 locations in Delhi, Gurugram, Faridabad, Noida, Ghazipur, Pune and Gandhidham. (With inputs from agencies)