What Is The Land Transactions Case That Has Put Priyanka Gandhi, Robert Vadra Under ED Scanner?

Though Robert Vadra and Priyanka Gandhi have not been named as accused in the ED chargesheet, it is for the first time that they have been named together in a complaint.

New Delhi: Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi has been named in a chargesheet filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) over her alleged connection with a case pertaining to money laundering. The ED chargesheet mentions her alleged role in buying and selling agricultural land in Haryana.

According to the chargesheet, Priyanka Gandhi bought agricultural land measuring 40 kanals (5 acres) in Amirpur village in Haryana’s Faridabad from a Delhi-NCR based real estate agent HL Pahwa in April 2006 and sold the same land to him in February 2010, news agency PTI reported.

Priyanka’s husband Robert Vadra had also purchased three pieces of land measuring 334 kanals (40.08 acres) in Amirpur from Pahwa from 2005-2006 and sold the same land to him in December 2010, ED chargesheet mentions.

The central agency accuses Pahwa of receiving “cash out of the books” for acquisition of the land. "It was also noticed that Robert Vadra did not pay the entire consideration to Pahwa. The investigation in this regard is still ongoing," ED said in a statement, reported PTI.

According to reports, Vadra was named in a chargesheet earlier filed by ED against NRI businessman CC Thampi. Thampi is allegedly linked to Vadra, and Sumit Chadha, a relative of alleged middleman Sanjay Bhandari.

Thampi was arrested over his alleged connection with this case in January 2020. He is currently out on bail.

Bhandari, who had fled to the UK in 2016, is under investigation by the ED and Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on charges of money laundering and tax evasion. The British government approved Bhandari's extradition to India in January this year after a legal request made by the ED and CBI.

Vadra was interrogated by ED over his alleged connection with the case. However, he has denied any wrongdoing, PTI reported.

According to ED, Vadra "renovated and stayed" at a London property which is a "proceeds of crime" in the money laundering case being probed against Bhandari. The ED chargesheet also stated that there existed a "long and thick relationship" between Thampi and Vadra.

Though Robert Vadra and Priyanka Gandhi have not been named as accused in the ED chargesheet, it is for the first time that they have been named together in a complaint, PTI reported.