The Rouse Avenue Court in New Delhi is set to consider a prosecution complaint filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) against businessman Robert Vadra, husband of Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi, regarding a money laundering case linked to a 2008 land deal in Gurugram’s Shikohpur village. The ED has accused Vadra, son-in-law of former Congress president Sonia Gandhi, of involvement in a fraudulent land transaction involving 3.53 acres of land in Haryana under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
The ED, in its prosecution complaint before the court, alleges that the proceeds of crime were channeled through multiple companies controlled by Vadra. It further claims that the money laundering offense took place in various locations, including Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, and Rajasthan. The agency asserts that Vadra’s company, Skylight Hospitality Private Limited, acquired 3.5 acres of land in Shikohpur in 2008 for Rs 7.50 crore from Omkareshwar Properties Private Limited, despite limited capital, with alleged irregularities in the transaction.
Earlier, a Delhi court had issued notices to Vadra and other accused individuals, citing legal provisions that necessitate giving the accused an opportunity to be heard before taking cognisance of a complaint. The ED has identified Rs 58 crore as proceeds of crime and has provisionally attached 43 immovable properties worth Rs 38.69 crore, allegedly linked to Vadra and associated entities. The agency has requested a maximum punishment of seven years’ rigorous imprisonment under the PMLA, along with the confiscation of the attached properties.
In 2012, senior IAS officer Ashok Khemka had canceled the Shikohpur land deal due to procedural irregularities. Despite subsequent clearance by a government panel, an FIR was filed by the Haryana Police after the BJP-led government assumed power in the state.
