The Enforcement Directorate has summoned fashion designers Sabyasachi, Manish Malhotra and Ritu Kumar in money laundering case. The three names have come up after ED was looking into money laundering allegations against Punjab Congress MLA Sukhpal Singh Khaira. The MLA is also allegedly under drugs and fake passport probe.
It has been alleged that the MLA paid lakhs of rupees to the three designers in cash in 2018-19. "We have information that Khaira paid money to the tune of several lakhs to the three designers in cash in 2018-19," Indian Express reported an ED official saying.
On the other hand, Khaira has said that he contacted these designers to get wedding outfits for his daughter's wedding two to three times. "I am not the person to answer this, you either ask the ED or the designers. I had purchased wedding dresses like lehengas worth Rs 3-4 lakh... two-three items... How big a case of money laundering is this?... It was a very meagre purchase for the wedding of my daughter," he told IE.
All three designers have a massive fan following in the country and even among the industry people. From Priyanka Chopra, Anushka Sharma, Deepika Padukone; Sabyasachi has become the go-to wedding outfit designer for top Bollywood actresses. On the other hand, when it comes to glamour and oomph; no one is even near Manish Malhotra. Manish also happens to have an intricate friend circle in Bollywood with close friends like Malaika Arora, Karan Johar, Kareena Kapoor, Janhvi Kapoor, and more.
The report states that while Ritu Kumar and Sabyasachi's team is aware of the summons and planning how to tackle this, Manish Malhotra couldn't be contacted.
