The Enforcement Directorate has filed a supplementary prosecution complaint against the United Arab Emirates (UAE)-based Non-Resident Indian Cheruvathur Chakutty Thampi and United Kingdom national Sumit Chadha.
The ED, through a release on Tuesday, alleged that Mr. Thampi was a close associate of Robert Vadra. They had bought a huge chunk of land in Haryana’s Faridabad and had financial transactions with each other, it alleged.
The agency has invoked money-laundering charges against Mr. Thampi and Mr. Chadha. A special Delhi court took cognisance of the prosecution complaint on December 22.
The case pertains to the ED probe into the activities and various contacts of arms dealer Sanjay Bhandari, who is also in the U.K., based on the searches conducted, and a complaint filed, by the Income-Tax Department under the Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign Income and assets) and Imposition of Tax Act.
According to the ED, Mr. Bhandari held various undisclosed foreign income and assets, including one at 12 Bryanston Square and another at 6 Grosvenor Hill Court in London. The agency alleged that the assets in question were “proceeds of crime”. “C.C. Thampi and Sumit Chadha are involved in the concealment and use of these proceeds of crime,” it said.
Earlier, on June 1, 2020, the ED had filed a prosecution complaint against Mr. Bhandari, his three offshore entities, and two other accused named Sanjeev Kapoor and Anirudh Wadhwa. Following the proceedings, the special court declared Mr. Bhandari a proclaimed offender.
“The Competent Authority in the U.K. has also ordered for extradition of Sanjay Bhandari and he has filed an appeal challenging the extradition order before the High Court of U.K. In the matter, properties worth ₹26.55 crore belonging to Sanjay Bhandari held in India were attached,” said the ED.
The agency alleged that Mr. Vadra had not only renovated the property at 12 Bryanston Square through Sumit Chadha but also stayed there.
In the first prosecution complaint filed in 2020, the ED alleged that Mr. Bhandari stashed black money abroad with the assistance of his accomplices to evade taxes, causing huge financial loss to the national exchequer. He allegedly owned assets in various foreign jurisdictions, incorporated various entities in the UAE as an owner or beneficial owner, and also had financial interests in an entity incorporated in Panama.
“It was also revealed that all those foreign assets and entities were not disclosed by Sanjay Bhandari to Income Tax authorities in India,” it had alleged.
