Much to the chagrin of the Rahul Gandhi/Priyanka Gandhi-led Congress, the Enforcement Directorate remains hooked to Robert Vadra, as its probe focuses on the acquisition of expensive properties abroad through allegedly benami transactions. Sources reveal that investigators, who had earlier questioned Vadra to clarify their suspicions about his links to a London flat at 12, Ellorton House, Bryanston Square worth over £2.6 million, have now asked him to also explain whether he was connected to the purchase of a Dubai villa, E-74 at Jumeirah, for £1.4 million.
During the ED's interrogation of Vadra, husband of Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi, he was asked about big cash deposits in Dubai-based Skylight Investments, a company bearing a name with a striking similarity to Skylight Hospitality Pvt Ltd, he owns in India. It is reported Vadra was asked to explain his ties with CC Thampi, the person who was the shareholder of Skylight Investment FZE. Skylight Investment, suspected to be a shell company with no business to show, bought the property in London's Bryanston Square from fugitive arms dealer Sanjay Bhandari in June 2010 after money was transferred to Bhandari's firm.
Sources also said that Vadra's denial that he had no links to Skylight Investment FZE, Dubai, was unconvincing. A source involved in the investigation said he “looked flustered”. The intense two-day questioning of Vadra focused mainly on his abroad assets, especially in London and UAE. The investigation has purportedly opened a can of worms for his brother-in-law Congress President Rahul Gandhi. The ED grilled Vadra for over eight hours last week, on the “ultimate beneficiary” of London residencies and six flats which it alleged were bought by his associates through a web of companies. The ED has alleged that many of the properties were used for “routing kickbacks” and “round-tripping illegal wealth”.
Vadra's name has come up in several other cases like:
Money Laundering- The ED had last year filed a case of money laundering against him for the purchase of the property at Bryanstone Square in London worth 1.9 million pounds. There were other two properties estimated at around 4 million pounds and 5 million pounds apart from other flats. The ED has alleged that Vadra and his associates received kickbacks in a petroleum deal inked in 2009 during the UPA regime.
Haryana Land Deal Case- An FIR was lodged last September against Vadra and former Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda under the Prevention of Corruption Act and multiple sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
Bikaner Money Laundering Case- In 2015, the ED had registered a money laundering case against Sky Light Hospitality owned by Vadra. The company had bought land in Kolayat, Bikaner at dirt cheap prices and sold it to Allegenery Finlease for £5,15,000 allegedly. The land was originally meant for rehabilitating poor villagers but was bought by Vadra through illegal transactions. ED also claimed that Allengenery Finlease was a fictitious company and had no real business.
Fraud cases- The CBI had registered 18 cases of fraud against companies including an entity owned by Vadra on the recommendation of the then Rajasthan government, in August 2017. Out of these 18 cases, four were registered against his company.
