New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate on Tuesday recorded the statement of Robert Vadra, businessman and brother-in-law of Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, in a 2008 Haryana land deal-linked money laundering case, official sources said.
Terming the agency’s move to summon him as a “political vendetta”, Vadra said he has spent hours with the ED earlier during questioning (in separate money laundering cases), sharing thousands of pages, but still, the agency has been raking up cases against him.
The 56-year-old walked down from his residence at Sujan Singh Park in central Delhi to the ED headquarters on APJ Abdul Kalam Road, a two-km stretch. He entered the ED office at 11 am along with his lawyer while his security team stayed out.
The plot, located in Shikohpur in Gurugram, was bought for Rs 7.5 cr, but the mutation process—usually a lengthy one—was completed the very next day. Shortly after, Vadra obtained a permit to develop a housing society on the land, causing the land’s value to rise. Vadra later sold it to real estate giant DLF in June for Rs 58 cr.
The ED has been investigating whether the significant profits from the deal were a result of money laundering. The transaction occurred when the Congress party was in power in Haryana, with Bhupinder Singh Hooda serving as the Chief Minister.
Earlier in the day, Vadra walked from his residence to the ED office after being summoned. He has dismissed the charges as part of a “political vendetta” and maintained that he has nothing to hide.
Vadra had previously been summoned by the ED on April 8 but had not appeared for questioning. He had also faced questioning in a separate money laundering case in the past.
In an unrelated development on Monday, Vadra expressed his support for the arrest of fugitive diamantaire Mehul Choksi, calling it a significant step for the country. He stressed the importance of recovering misappropriated funds from Choksi, who is linked to the massive Punjab National Bank (PNB) scam, and compensating those who had been affected by the fraud.
“This is very good news for everyone. If somebody has done wrong, they must be nabbed and brought to book,” Vadra said, commenting on Choksi’s arrest.
