The Enforcement Directorate is exploring the possibility of launching money laundering investigations into disproportionate assets allegations against Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh, his relatives and associates.
As the provisions under which the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is conducting the probe are predicate offences, the ED is well within its power to launch its own probe.
The CBI has named the former Minister of Steel, his wife Pratibha Singh, and his associates Anand and Chunni Lal Chauhan for their alleged involvement in the DA case. Mr. Singh has been accused of amassing unaccounted wealth worth Rs. 6.03 crore between 2009 and 2012.
According to the CBI, Mr. Singh’s son Vikramaditya had purchased a farmhouse at Mehrauli in South Delhi for Rs.1.2 crore through a company, using the money obtained from his father.
The property was acquired in August 2011 in the name of Maple Destination Dream Build Private Limited, incorporated about three months before the deal. Vikramaditya held 99 per cent share, whereas his sister Aparajita had one per cent share in the firm.
Stating that there was no illegality in the purchase, Vikramaditya told The Hindu : “I have handed over all the relevant documents to the CBI. The investigating agency is indulging in selective leak of information to the media at the behest of its political masters. It is an attempt to malign my reputation and that of my family members.”
According to the agency, during the preliminary inquiry, Mr. Vikramaditya had given a statement to the CBI that the money for purchase of the farmhouse came from his father.
“In their statement to the Income Tax Department, the former farmhouse owners had said it was sold for Rs. 6.6 crore. While Rs. 1.2 crore was paid through bank, the rest was in cash. However, they later retracted,” said an official.
According to the Income Tax report obtained by the CBI, Tarini group promoter Vakamulla Chandrashekhar had given a friendly loan of Rs. 2.4 crore to Mr. Singh through bank instruments in 10 transactions between July and November 2011.
Another amount of Rs. 1.5 crore was purportedly given in friendly loan to Pratibha Singh in five instalments between November 5 and November 12, 2011. The total amount was returned with 10 per cent interest in two instalments last year. All these transactions are under the scanner.
The CBI alleges that the loans were taken despite the fact that Mr. Singh’s family members had enough money in their bank accounts, in the form of savings and fixed deposits.
