The Enforcement Directorate has named Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra in its supplementary prosecution complaint against C C Thampi, said to be known to Priyanka’s husband Robert Vadra, in connection with a money laundering case against arms dealer Sanjay Bhandari.
In the prosecution complaint – akin to a chargesheet – the investigating agency has alleged that Priyanka purchased five acres of land from a Delhi-based real estate agent, H L Pahwa, in Faridabad in April 2006. She allegedly sold the same piece of land to Pahwa in 2010, the prosecution complaint said.
It said that Thampi, who was arrested by the ED in 2020, bought 486 acres of land in Faridabad between 2005 and 2008 through Pahwa. Vadra also purchased 40 acres of land from Pahwa in the same area in 2005-06 and sold it back to him five years later, the ED alleged.
“C C Thampi, who had financial dealings with Sanjay Bhandari, had deposited cash of Rs 50 crore to H L Pahwa, which was used for several land dealings, and Robert Vadra is admittedly a friend of both C C Thampi and Sanjay Bhandari,” the ED had claimed earlier.
In 2018, the ED had raided premises associated with Skylight Hospitality, a firm allegedly linked to Robert Vadra, in connection with the case against Bhandari.
The supplementary chargesheet accuses Thampi of assisting Bhandari in “concealment, possession and use of proceeds of crime”. The ED has alleged that Bhandari acquired property at 12 Bryanston Square, London, in 2009 and renovated it using Vadra’s funds. Vadra also stayed in the property “three-four times”, the ED has alleged, adding: “The common thread with regard to the said (London) property, starting from the date of acquisition to its use, was C C Thampi, Sumit Chadha and Robert Vadra.”
The ED alleged that Vadra and Thampi had known each other for more than a decade and were introduced through Congress leader Sonia Gandhi’s PA, Madhavan. “During the course of investigation in this case, it is found that a long and thick relationship exists between… Thampi and… Vadra. Not only a personal/cordial bond, but common and similar business interests are also found between them,” alleged the agency.
The agency also highlighted alleged financial transactions between the two, including the purchase of a vehicle by Thampi in Vadra’s name.
According to a flow chart in the chargesheet, through foreign firms in Switzerland and Korea, undisclosed foreign income was allegedly transferred to entities owned by Sanjay Bhandari, such as Santech International. This foreign income was transferred to UAE-based companies and later reached Sky Lite Investment, the ED has alleged.
The agency stated that from the analysis of certain emails, it was clear that Bhandari controlled and owned Sky Lite, which was a shell entity with no reported income or profit. Funds from Sky Lite were eventually used to purchase the London property, the ED alleged.
© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd
First uploaded on: 29-12-2023 at 01:40 IST
