Gurjit Singh Kochar was father-in-law Ponty Chadha's conduit for converting black money into white

Among the names released by the Swiss Federal Authorities, the one which the Narendra Modi-led government will be gunning for is Gurjit Singh Kochar.

Kochar is the son-in-law of slain liquor baron Ponty Chadha. Thirty-five-year-old Kochar was also one of those whose premises were raided by the Income-Tax department in February 2012.

The Swiss Federal Tax Administration (FTA) on Tuesday disclosed the names of five more Indians who face probe on stashing away money abroad.

Industrialist Yash Birla, Mumbai-based Sayed Mohamed Masood and Chaud Kauser Mohamed Masood, the two who are being probed for a major ponzi scheme through City Limousines, Kochar, Ponty Chadha, and a Delhi-based businesswoman Ritika Sharma.

The FTA had earlier named two other Indians – Sneh Lata Sawhney and Sangita Sawhney.

In the raids on Kochar's premises, the I-T department recovered an unconfirmed sum from the Centrestage Mall in Noida, owned by Ponty Chadha. It was later reported that hundreds of crores were shifted out of the mall after a tip-off.

I-T sleuths believed that Ponty was using his son-in-law to convert his black money into white. It was reported that Kochar round- tripped Rs 38 crore through Dubai for Ponty Chadha.

The latest disclosure from Swiss authorities further blows the lid off the murky empire of Chadha, two years after his death in a shootout with his brother Hardeep Chadha at their farmhouse in South Delhi's Chattarpur locality.

Kochar's name in the list also proves that his association with the Chadhas extended way beyond just a matrimonial alliance. Kochar is a close associate of Ponty's son Manpreet or Monty Chadha. Both Kochar and Monty preside over the board of directors of many companies in the Chadha empire's flagship Wave Group of companies.

Almost one year before Ponty Chadha's death in the November 2012 shootout, Monty and Kochar were appointed on the board of two companies - Wave Megacity Centre Pvt Ltd and Wave Infratech Township Pvt Ltd.

Wave Infratech is the flagship real-estate firm of the Chadhas. At the time of Ponty's death, the company's net worth was close to Rs 600 crore.

Wave Megacity Centre constructs high rise multi-purpose properties in some of Noida's most upmarket sectors. The project, titled 'Noida Wave Mega City Centre,' worth Rs 6,570 crore for 151 acres of land in the heart of Noida, was dubbed by the Chadhas as the biggest private commercial real-estate deal in India's history.

Both Kochar and Monty were at the forefront of running these companies, which were incorporated in 2011 -- around the same time both became directors in them.

Kochar was also drafted into some of the older companies of the Chadha empire – the most notable being Uppal-Chadha Hitech Developers Private Ltd.

The company owns over 1,500 acres of land on Delhi's outskirts in Ghaziabad where it is developing a project called hi-tech city.

An email sent to Kochar's company did not elicit a response till the time of going to press.

After the disclosures, it would be interesting to see how I-T authorities are likely to zero in on Kochar and the Chadhas. Kochar has long been suspected of being Ponty Chadha's conduit for money-laundering by tax authorities.

Of particular interest to sleuths would be four companies started within 48 hours in 2010. All four companies had Gurjit Kochar and brother Jagjit as the only two directors.

All four companies had a paid-up capital of Rs 1.01 lakh and were registered at the same address: B-38, Sagar Apartments in Central Delhi's Tilak Marg. All four companies: JKG Infradevelopers Private Ltd, GSK Constructions & Builders Private Ltd, JG Buildwell Private Ltd and RJ Infradevelopers Private Ltd have negligible activities recorded in their balance sheets.

Surprisingly, Kochar did not incorporate any company after the death of Ponty Chadha in 2012.

With Kochar's name being revealed by Swiss authorities, I-T sleuths will realise that Ponty Chadha's 'black billions' might be hidden elsewhere in the world as well and not just inside the deep vaults of his glistening malls in Noida.