|
|
|
Bikaner land deal: ED attaches properties worth crores involving Vadra's company
|
|
|
|
Top Stories |
|
|
|
|
SME Times News Bureau | 15 Feb, 2019
In a major blow to Congress President Rahul Gandhi's brother-in-law
Robert Vadra, who was questioned twice by the Enforcement Directorate
(ED) in a money laundering case involving the Bikaner land deal, the
agency on Friday attached the properties related to his company Skylight
Hospitality in Delhi. A senior ED official said the agency has
attached Skylight Hospitality Pvt Ltd., which has now been named as
Skylight Hospitality LLP's property in Delhi's Sukhdev Vihar. Its worth
is Rs 4.43 crore.
Besides the Delhi property, the agency also
attached movable properties worth Rs 18.59 lakh pertaining to four
persons linked to the Bikaner land deal case.
The agency claimed
that Skylight Hospitality (P) Ltd had purchased 275 bigha (69.55
hectare) fraudulent land for Rs 72 lakh and sold the same for Rs 5.15
crore to Allegeny Finlease Pvt. Ltd., illegally generating profit of Rs
4.43 crore.
The four other individuals too generated a profit of Rs 18.59 lakh in the sale of impugned fraudulent land.
The
agency had earlier attached properties worth Rs 1.82 crore and filed a
chargesheet before the Special PMLA court against nine accused.
So far, the total attachment by ED in the case is worth Rs 6.44 crore.
Vadra,
along with his 75-year-old mother Maureen Vadra, was questioned for the
first time in the land deal case on Tuesday for over eight hours in
Jaipur. However, on Wednesday, Vadra was also questioned alone for over
eight hours by the agency sleuths in Rajasthan capital.
The ED
has been probing the alleged irregularities in the purchase of land in
Kolayat area of the border town of Bikaner in Rajasthan, which was meant
for those displaced due to Army's field firing range.
The agency
registered a criminal case under the Money Laundering Act in 2015,
taking cognizance of the case filed by the Rajasthan Police after
forgery allegations.
The agency had earlier issued notices to
Skylight Hospitality, but had not mentioned Vadra's name or any company
linked to him in its FIR.
According to the ED, during
investigation it had surfaced that Allegeny Finlease as a company was
"not involved" in any "real business activities" and many of its
shareholders were found to be dummy or non-existent.
The
government had cancelled the mutation (transfer of land) of 374.44
hectares of land after allotments were found to have been allegedly made
in the names of "illegal private persons".
Revenue officials had
said in the complaint that government land in 34 villages of Bikaner,
which was meant to be used for expanding the Army's firing range, was
"grabbed" by the land mafia by preparing "forged and fabricated
documents" in connivance with government officials.
The ED
suspects that a huge amount of money was laundered in this case by
people buying land at cheaper rates through forged documents.
Vadra
was also questioned for over 24 hours last week in Delhi for three days
-- Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday -- in a separate money laundering
case.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Customs Exchange Rates |
Currency |
Import |
Export |
US Dollar
|
66.20
|
64.50 |
UK Pound
|
87.50
|
84.65 |
Euro
|
78.25
|
75.65 |
Japanese
Yen |
58.85 |
56.85 |
As on 13 Aug, 2022 |
|
|
Daily Poll |
|
|
PM Modi's recent US visit to redefine India-US bilateral relations |
|
|
|
|
|
Commented Stories |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|