Vadra ignores ED summons on Rajasthan deals
TNN | Dec 1, 2018, 07:21 ISTNEW DELHI: Businessman Robert Vadra, son-in-law of Congress leader Sonia Gandhi, had failed to appear before the Enforcement Directorate on the first summons issued to him in early November in connection with his Sky Light Hospitality’s land deals in Bikaner.
The agency is likely to issue another summons to Vadra in a money laundering case it is investigating in connection with Sky Light Hospitality Pvt Ltd, said a source.
The ED registered a money laundering case in September 2015 in the Bikaner land deal case based on a Rajasthan police FIR and 20 chargesheets filed by the state force. The Rajasthan police filed cases against Sky Light Hospitality and others in August 2014, soon after the NDA government assumed office at the Centre.
In December 2017, the ED had arrested two persons in the Bikaner land scam, Jaiprakash Bagarwa and Ashok Kumar. The latter, according to the ED, is a close associate of Mahesh Nagar who is the authorised representative of Sky Light Hospitality. Vadra and his mother Maureen are directors in the firm.
The ED probe found that Kumar was used as a conduit by Nagar, brother of Congress MLA Lalit Nagar, who knew the “fraudulent nature of 69.55 hectares Sky Light Hospitality Pvt Ltd purchased for Rs 72 lakh and later sold to Allegeney Finlease Pvt Ltd for Rs 5.15 crore”.
According to the ED investigation, Allegeney Finlease was “not involved in any real business activity and its shareholders were found to be dummy/non-existent”. The financial trail of Allegeny showed it had received funds from a leading steel and power firm which it used to purchase the Bikaner land from Sky Light Hospitality.
Sources said the agency had questioned all the front entities involved in the Bikaner land scam and Vadra’s questioning was important to establish the actual beneficiary of the deal and take the case for prosecution.
The agency is likely to issue another summons to Vadra in a money laundering case it is investigating in connection with Sky Light Hospitality Pvt Ltd, said a source.
The ED registered a money laundering case in September 2015 in the Bikaner land deal case based on a Rajasthan police FIR and 20 chargesheets filed by the state force. The Rajasthan police filed cases against Sky Light Hospitality and others in August 2014, soon after the NDA government assumed office at the Centre.
In December 2017, the ED had arrested two persons in the Bikaner land scam, Jaiprakash Bagarwa and Ashok Kumar. The latter, according to the ED, is a close associate of Mahesh Nagar who is the authorised representative of Sky Light Hospitality. Vadra and his mother Maureen are directors in the firm.
The ED probe found that Kumar was used as a conduit by Nagar, brother of Congress MLA Lalit Nagar, who knew the “fraudulent nature of 69.55 hectares Sky Light Hospitality Pvt Ltd purchased for Rs 72 lakh and later sold to Allegeney Finlease Pvt Ltd for Rs 5.15 crore”.
According to the ED investigation, Allegeney Finlease was “not involved in any real business activity and its shareholders were found to be dummy/non-existent”. The financial trail of Allegeny showed it had received funds from a leading steel and power firm which it used to purchase the Bikaner land from Sky Light Hospitality.
Sources said the agency had questioned all the front entities involved in the Bikaner land scam and Vadra’s questioning was important to establish the actual beneficiary of the deal and take the case for prosecution.
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