The Enforcement Directorate (ED) in its supplementary chargesheet has finally established a direct connection between the Gandhi son-in-law Robert Vadra, CC Thampi and arms dealer Sanjay Bhandari. The ED on the 22nd of December told the Special Court that CC Thampi, who worked for the absconding arms dealer Sanjay Bhandari, is a close aide of Robert Vadra – the husband of Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. The link has been established by the ED in the supplementary chargesheet filed against CC Thampi and Sumit Chadha (said to be the brother-in-law of Sanjay Bhandari) in a money laundering case. This is the first time that ED has named Vadra in their chargesheet.
The ED chargesheet said, “The investigation revealed that CC Thampi is a close associate of Robert Vadra. Vadra, who not only renovated the property at 12 Bryanston Square, London, through Sumit Chadha but also stayed in the same. Further, Vadra as well as CC Thampi, purchased a huge chunk of land at Faridabad and had financial transactions with each other”.
The special court took cognizance of the chargesheet on the 22nd of December 2023, the ED press release said.
ED initiated the investigation based on searches as well as a Prosecution Complaint filed by the Income Tax Department under section 51 of Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets) and Imposition of Tax Act, 2015. ED investigation revealed that Sanjay Bhandari held various undisclosed foreign income and assets including properties at no. 12 Bryanston Square, London and 6 Grosvenor Hill Court, London. These assets are Proceeds of Crime as per the provisions of PMLA, 2002. CC Thampi and Sumit Chadha are involved in the concealment and use of these Proceeds of Crime.
The prosecution complaint against arms dealer Sanjay Bhandari was filed on 1st June 2020, his 3 offshore entities, Sanjeev Kapoor and Anirudh Wadhwa. After due process, Sanjay Bhandari was declared a proclaimed offender and the UK had ordered his extradition to India. Sanjay Bhandari has challenged the extradition order. Following the investigation, properties worth Rs. 26.55 crores belonging to Sanjay Bhandari were attached by Indian authorities.
CC Thampi was arrested in 2020 and is currently out on bail. In February 2019, Robert Vadra was grilled for over 5 hours for his alleged links to CC Thampi. The Enforcement Directorate suspects kickbacks for a petroleum deal in 2009 were routed through the Sharjah-based company, allegedly controlled by a UAE-based NRI businessman, CC Thampi. Vadra was also questioned about owning Benami property in London along with CC Thampi and Sanjay Bhandari. Thampi has a company in UAE called Sky Light and in India, Skylight Hospitality Private Limited is allegedly linked to Vadra and is under the ED scanner for suspect land deals in Bikaner, Rajasthan. ED had served him a show-cause notice last year for violation of laws in the acquisition of agricultural and other lands in and around Delhi-NCR in deals amounting to over Rs 288 crore.
The Rahul Gandhi connection that OpIndia had revealed in 2019
So far, the connection has only been established between Sanjay Bhandari and Robert Vadra. However, in 2019, OpIndia had unearthed papers that liked Rahul Gandhi himself to Sanjay Bhandari through a string of dubious land deals involving HL Pahwa and CC Thampi – who the ED has now acknowledged is a close aide of Robert Vadra.
These papers related to the ED search conducted on one H L Pahwa on 3rd May 2017 and 4th May 2017. The land dealings are between Rahul Gandhi and H L Pahwa who was funded by C C Thampi – CC Thampi was known to be a close aide of Robert Vadra, and now, the ED has mentioned in their chargesheet that he was also a close aide of Robert Vadra.
According to the files seized by the Enforcement Directorate from HL Pahwa, Rahul Gandhi had purchased 6.5 acres of land located at Hassanpur, Palwal vide registration deed 4780 dated 3rd March 2008 from HL Pahwa for a measly Rs. 26,47,000. The land was purchased by making a cheque payment of Rs. 24,00,000 dated 12th January 2008 and Rs. 2,47,000 dated 17th March 2008.
But, File C page 57 of the seized ED files reveals that the stamp duty on this transaction was paid in cash and was not withdrawn by Pahwa. It thus becomes obvious that it was the buyer, in this case, Rahul Gandhi who paid the stamp duty.
Another revelation in the file (Page 60 of File C) is that Pahwa wanted to sell the land at Rs. 33,22,003 but agreed to sell only at Rs. 26,47,000 to Rahul Gandhi.
In the 2019 story, OpIndia revealed how not only Rahul Gandhi, but Robert Vadra and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra had also purchased land from HL Pahwa. A sale deed dated 3 March 2008, shows nine acres of land in Hasanpur village in Haryana’s Palwal district was sold by Gurgaon resident H L Pahwa to Robert Vadra for Rs 36.9 lakh. Also, a sale deed from Rajasthan’s Bikaner district shows 4.63 acres of land in Basti village in Ganganagar tehsil was sold for Rs 8.5 lakh in April 2009, by 42-year-old Sarita Devi Bothra to Real Earth Estate Private Limited, a company based in New Delhi. The company’s director is Robert Vadra.
Priyanka Gandhi Vadra too had purchased land from HL Pahwa. OpIndia had earlier reported how Priyanka Gandhi Vadra had purchased land and sold it back for an inflated price, 4 years later to the same person. That person was also HL Pahwa. On 28th April 2006, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra had purchased land by paying Rs. 15,00,000 in 2 cheques from HL Pahwa, and then, on 17th February 2010, sold it back to HL Pahwa for Rs. 84,15,006 via several cheques.
Here the link between HL Pahwa and CC Thampi emerges.
When Priyanka Gandhi Vadra sold the land back to HL Pahwa for an inflated price, Pahwa paid Gandhi back in 5 instalments between 22nd May 2009 and 11th September 2009. The reason cited for the instalment payment was ‘non-availability of funds’.
The ED files at the time had revealed that HL Pahwa had received Rs. 54,00,00,000 (Rs 54 crores) from CC Thampi.
The facts that emerge are these:
1. Rahul Gandhi purchased land from HL Pahwa at allegedly, a reduced price.
2. The land was also purchased from HL Pahwa by Robert Vadra and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. In several cases, the land was bought back by HL Pahwa at an inflated price even though his cash balance was negative.
3. To make good on the purchase, HL Pahwa took money from CC Thampi
4. CC Thampi and Sanjay Bhandari are close friends. As demonstrated, they had several financial transactions amongst themselves.
5. ED chargesheet now confirms that CC Thampi worked for Sanjay Bhandari and was also a close aide of Robert Vadra.
6. Sanjay Bhandari is an arms dealer and close friend of Robert Vadra. He had received kickbacks in Defence deal and in Petroleum deal.
7. It is through this kickback that Sanjay Bhandari purchased benami properties from Robert Vadra, even paid for the renovation.
It is pertinent to note here that Sanjay Bhandari is an armed dealer. From 2012 to 2015, Sanjay Bhandari was lobbying to become the offset partner in the Rafale deal and Dassault refused to indulge him. The file related to the purchase of 126 Rafale jets had gone missing from the defence ministry and it was later found on the road. It is alleged that Bhandari had stolen the file. It is alleged that Bhandari used to photocopy crucial files and passed on to defence contractors that he had links with. Later, Arun Jaitley had alleged that while Rafale was being finalised during the Congress government, there were backroom talks about the Eurofighter. The questions deepened after rumours that Rahul Gandhi had met Eurofighter representatives in Germany.
Now that the ED has confirmed the close links between CC Thampi, Robert Vadra and arms dealer Sanjay Bhandari, the dubious land deals that connect Rahul Gandhi to Sanjay Bhandari through his dubious land deals via HL Pahwa and CC Thampi gain far more significance.
