The Enforcement Directorate has seized assets worth ₹1.46 crore of Harish Gahlot, brother of Delhi Minister Kailash Gahlot, in lieu of the properties held in the UAE in alleged violation of the Foreign Exchange Management Act.
A flat, land parcel
The seized assets include a residential flat in Delhi’s Vasant Kunj and a land parcel at Chauma Village in Haryana.
The probe is based on an input shared by the Income-Tax Department about a transfer of ₹1 crore to Dubai through “hawala” by the accused in 2018.
According to the ED, it found that Mr. Gahlot had given ₹1 crore in cash to his younger son Nitesh, who is an NRI studying in Dubai.
Nitesh, through his contact, approached Delhi-based ‘hawala’ dealer Inderpal Wadhawan for transferring the money to Dubai, as alleged.
The Directorate said the dealer kept ₹4 lakh as his commission and illegally delivered Dirhams equivalent ₹96 lakh in Dubai, which was collected by Nitesh’s friend and deposited in his Dubai bank account.
The funds were allegedly used to book two flats in the name of Nitesh, his father, mother and elder brother.
Investigations revealed that on September 26, 2018, Mr. Gahlot had also sent ₹50 lakh from his account to that of Nitesh in Dubai under the “Liberalised Remittance Scheme” for the purpose code “S0305 — Travel for Education Including Fees Hostel Expenses etc”, said the agency, alleging that the amount was not used for the intended purpose, but for booking the flats.