Benami Property Case: Income Tax Officials At Robert Vadra's Residence To Record Statement

An Income Tax team is at Vadra's residence to record his statement in the Benami properties matter.

Robert Vadra

The Income Tax Department officers on Monday recorded statement of businessman Robert Vadra -- the son-in-law of Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, in an alleged tax evasion case linked to the properties he allegedly purchased in the United Kingdom through arms dealer Sanjay Bhandari. As reported by news agency IANS, "An I-T team is at Vadra's residence to record his statement in the Benami properties matter." The officials quoted by the agency clarified that no raids were conducted at his residence. The husband of Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi, Robert Vadra was summoned earlier but he was unable to join the probe due to the Covid pandemic. Vadra is being probed for purchase of benami properties — a villa in Dubai’s Jumeirah worth Rs 14 crore and a flat in London’s Bryanston Square worth over Rs 26 crore — for which he has been questioned several times in the past. He has been accused of channeling kickbacks received from a petroleum deal conducted in 2009 into the properties. He maintains that the cases against him are motivated by political rivalry. Vadra has denied the allegations of possessing illegal foreign assets and termed them a political witch hunt against him. He said he was being "hounded and harassed" to subserve political ends. However, he has said he will cooperate with the probe. Besides the I-T department, the Enforcement Department is probing Vadra under the provisions of Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) pertaining to allegations of money laundering in the purchase of a London-based property at 12, Bryanston Square, worth GBP 1.9 million. According to the media reports, there are two more properties worth 4 million pounds (around Rs 37.42 crore) and 5 million pounds (more than Rs 46.77 crore). Six other flats are also suspected to be owned by Vadra.