The Central Bureau of Investigation registered a disproportionate assets case against former Telecom Minister A. Raja, his wife and 15 others on Wednesday. Mr. Raja has been accused of acquiring disproportionate assets of Rs. 27.92 crore through his relatives and close associates from 1999 to 2010.
Soon after registering the case, the agency conducted simultaneous raids at 20 places in New Delhi, Chennai, Coimbatore, Tiruchi and Perambalur. Documents such as income-tax returns, property documents, financial statements and fixed deposit receipts were seized. The searches continued till late on Wednesday night.
Investigators said they had seized a locker key in Mr. Raja’s New Delhi residence. Five diaries seized earlier are being analysed in this case. “The diaries have handwritten details of several crores of rupees sent in cash from New Delhi to Chennai. Contents of the locker, the key of which was in the possession of an aide in the house, could provide more evidence in the case,” a CBI official said.
Among those named as accused are Mr. Raja’s wife, Parameswari, nephew Parmesh Kumar, close associate C. Krishnamurthy and Reha Banu, wife of another close associate, Sadiq Basha, formerly Director of Green House Promoters Pvt. Ltd, who allegedly committed suicide.
“It is alleged that Mr. Raja and other accused persons have amassed assets, including immovable properties, through various companies including Green House Promoters, Kovai Shelters Promoters and Shivakamam Trading Pvt. Ltd. These firms were managed by close relatives and associates of Mr. Raja,” a CBI official said.
The CBI investigation revealed that several relatives and associates of Mr. Raja allegedly clocked “exponential” financial growth during the period in question without having requisite wherewithal. While perusing details of a property sold in Chennai, investigators found that the classification of a piece of land owned by the accused along the Old Mahabalipuram Road was converted from aqua zone to residential zone and sold at an exorbitant price to a property developer.
Sale of properties at higher price
There could be more such conversion of land classifications to enable sale of properties at a higher price. We seized Rs. 4.6 lakh and 1,726 grams of gold from Mr. Raja’s residence in New Delhi. 125 property documents were seized from the house of another accused Dr. Krishnamurthy in Coimbatore,” an official in the CBI’s Anti Corruption Branch (ACB) said.
Mr. Raja is already facing trial in the 2G spectrum allocations case. It is learnt that the assets case is a result of the 2G case investigations. Documents seized in the 2G case but not found relevant to it were referred to the ACB for scrutiny. This led to the wealth case against Mr. Raja and others.
The CBI case pertains to the period when he held office in various Union Ministries. Mr. Raja, elected to the Lok Sabha for the first time in 1996, had been Union Minister of State for Rural Development from October 1999 to September 2000 in the Vajpayee government.
He then became Union Minister of State, Health and Family Welfare in September, a post he held till December 2003.
In the United Progressive Alliance government, he became the Union Minister of Environment and Forests and was allocated the Communications and Information Technology portfolio in May 2007.
He got the same portfolio in 2009 when the alliance returned to power.
“The disproportionate assets case has been registered on the basis of a report submitted by the team that probed the 2G case citing specific instances of wealth generated through illegal means. If necessary, we will seek relevant documents from the Income-Tax Department,” said a CBI official.
Agency sources said Mr. Raja was at his posh Gulmohar Park residence in Delhi when a CBI team raided the place.
Though the disproportionate assets case is the result of the CBI investigation into the 2G case, the name of Kanimozhi, accused in the spectrum allocation case, has not figured in the fresh case.
Based on a fresh first information report filed by the CBI, the Enforcement Directorate may have to file another charge sheet in the money-laundering case against Mr. Raja and other accused in the 2G case, which is in the final stages of hearing before a Delhi court.
The ED may consider registration of a new money-laundering case.
