Businessman Robert Vadra, husband of Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, appeared before the Enforcement Directorate in New Delhi for questioning in a land deal case on Tuesday (April 15). Photo: PTI
Robert Vadra appears before ED in Haryana land deal case, calls it ‘political vendetta’
The probe pertains to a land deal of Feb 2008 where a company linked to Vadra bought 3.5 acres of land in Shikohpur for Rs 7.5 crore, and the mutation of the land was done within hours
Robert Vadra, businessman and brother-in-law of Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, on Tuesday (April 15) appeared before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in New Delhi for questioning in a Haryana land deal-linked money laundering case, official sources said.
The 56-year-old Vadra walked down for about 2 km, along with his security personnel and a media posse, from his residence at Sujan Singh Park in central Delhi to the ED headquarters on APJ Abdul Kalam Road.
Speaking to reporters, he charged that, "This is nothing but political vendetta. Whenever I speak for minorities, they try to stop me, crush us... they tried to stop Rahul (Gandhi) in Parliament too. This is misuse of agencies and this is political vendetta".
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“I will cooperate with them like in the past,” he added.
Vadra was first summoned in this case on April 8 but he did not depose and sought a fresh date, the sources said.
“We have summoned Robert Vadra in the Shikohpur land deal probe to know about the financial transaction,” said an ED official.
The land deal
The probe against Vadra, whose wife Priyanka Gandhi Vadra is the Congress MP from Kerala's Wayanad, is linked to a land deal in Haryana's Shikohpur.
The probe pertains to a land deal of February 2008 where a company linked to Vadra - Skylight Hospitality Pvt Ltd - purchased a piece of 3.5-acre land in Shikohpur in Gurugram from a firm named Onkareshwar Properties at a price of ₹7.5 crore.
It is alleged that the mutation of this land was done within hours. The Haryana Police had filed a case in this deal in 2018.
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Vadra’s company reportedly sold the land to the real estate company DLF for ₹58 crores. The ED is allegedly probing the money trail to see if the huge profits were part of a money laundering scheme.
The ED will record his statement under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), the sources said.
Vadra has been questioned multiple times by the federal probe agency in a different money laundering case.
(With agency inputs)