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Arrested RJD MP transferred $11 mn to VVIP chopper case accused, says ED
The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) MP had also allegedly made cash payments running into several crores to several people in 2018-2019, the agency said, adding that money laundering worth ₹40 crore has already been linked to Singh.
Amarendra Dhari Singh, the Rajya Sabha member arrested in an alleged fertiliser scam earlier this month, had transferred $11 million through two Panama-based companies to AgustaWestland scam middleman Rajiv Saxena in 2013, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has told a Delhi court.
The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) MP had also allegedly made cash payments running into several crores to several people in 2018-2019, the agency said, adding that money laundering worth ₹40 crore has already been linked to Singh.
People familiar with the probe told HT that the source of all these funds, which Singh failed to account for during questioning, is being investigated.
The submissions were made by ED through special public prosecutor Nitesh Rana and counsel Zoheb Hossain in the court of special judge Vikas Dhull on Wednesday while opposing the bail of Singh, who was arrested on June 2.
ED’s money laundering case is based on a corruption case registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) last month against U S Awasthi, the managing director and CEO of Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative Limited (IFFCO), and Parvinder Singh Gahlaut, CEO of Indian Potash Limited (IPL), apart from the RJD MP and Saxena. CBI alleged that IFFCO and IPL imported fertilisers and raw materials running into thousands of metric tonnes from foreign suppliers at highly inflated rates between 2007 and 2014. For this, CBI alleged, illegal commissions worth over ₹685 crore were paid through sham transactions disguised as consultancy agreements.
The central agency has found that two companies owned by Singh in the Republic of Panama — Summerpark Corporation and Lake Village Assets Corp — had transferred $11 million in 2013 from their bank account at Banque Heritage, Geneva (Switzerland), to Rajiv Saxena, for the purpose of real estate investments.
These transactions are reflected in an email dated November 30, 2013, sent by Lake Village, and addressed to Saxena, confirming the transfer of $1 million on April 29, 2013. Another email was sent by Summerpark on the same day to Saxena, confirming the transfer of $9,75,000 from November 16, 2012, till June 21, 2013.
ED has also referred to cash payments running into crores made by Singh to several people between September and November 2018.
While seeking bail, Singh’s lawyers, Siddharth Aggarwal and Madhav Khurana, sought relief on the ground that he has been suffering from lymphatic cancer since 2002 and has to travel to the United States regularly for medical check-up. They also said that he is a law-abiding citizen.
But ED opposed the plea, saying that the accused is not suffering from any life-threatening disease as per his own admission and releasing him will hamper the investigation.
The court dismissed Singh’s bail request, saying he is a Rajya Sabha MP as well as a member of the parliamentary standing Committee on fertilisers. “Therefore, there is a likelihood that the accused, being a powerful person, may influence certain witnesses, who are working with different entities involved in the import of fertilisers,” the judge said.
