Who is Darshan Hiranandani, summoned by ED in FEMA case linked to Mahua Moitra?

Businessman Darshan Hiranandani and TMC leader Mahua Moitra have been summoned by the ED in a foreign exchange case.

The Enforcement Directorate on Wednesday issued a fresh summons to Trinamool leader Mahua Moitra and businessman Darshan Hiranandani in a Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) contravention case, ordering them to report for questioning on March 28.

Darshan Hiranandani has been summoned by the Enforcement Directorate

Before this, Dubai-based Darshan Hiranandani was also summoned by the agency in a separate FEMA case against his Mumbai-based realty group. Earlier, his father Niranjan Hiranandani had deposed before the ED in Mumbai.

Meanwhile, Mahua Moitra was summoned by the ED twice earlier but she decided not to depose citing official work and sought deferment on the notice. In the current case, an advocate allegedly linked to Moitra was examined by the ED on Wednesday at its office in New Delhi, reported PTI.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) raided Mahua Moitra's premises in connection with the cash-for-query case on Saturday, days after anti-corruption ombudsman Lokpal directed the federal agency to investigate the allegations levelled against her by BJP MP Nishikant Dubey.

Who is businessman Darshan Hiranandani?

Darshan Hiranandani is the son of property tycoon Niranjan Hiranandani and heads his family-run property empire. He is mostly engaged in managing the company's international real estate ventures.

Darshan Hiranandani's firm set up projects across multiple cities like Bengaluru, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Chennai, and Hyderabad. Hiranandani Group is also expanding its business in upcoming sectors such as data centres, cloud computing, energy, and industrial warehousing.

Apart from holding a key post in the Hiranandani Group, Darshan also holds leadership roles in H-Energy Pvt and oversees the operation of data centres in Navi Mumbai and Noida. His father Nirjanjan Hiranandani has a net worth of over $1.4 billion.

Hiranandani's link to Mahua Moitra's case

BJP MP Nishikant Dubey alleged that Mahua Moitra asked questions in the House in exchange for cash and gifts from Darshan Hiranandani to mount an attack on industrialist Gautam Adani and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, among others.

His allegations were based on a complaint filed by advocate Jai Dehadrai, who alleged that Moitra compromised national security in exchange for gifts and cash from Hiranandani. On the basis of this complaint, the Lok Sabha ethics committee passed the decision to expel Moitra from Parliament.

(With inputs from PTI)