In a major setback for Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad's daughter Misa Bharti, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday, attached a farmhouse in New Delhi in connection with its money laundering investigation against her and husband Shailesh Kumar.
Palam Farms, located in south-west Delhi's Bijwasan, has been attached provisionally under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and it was purchased allegedly using Rs 1.2 crore laundered in 2008-09, the ED said.
It belongs to Bharti, a Rajya Sabha MP, and her husband Shailesh Kumar and is "held in the name of Mishail Packers and Printers Pvt Ltd".
The ED had conducted raids at three farmhouses owned by Bharti and Kumar on July 8 following the arrest of two brothers, Surendra Kumar Jain and Virendra Jain, who alleged laundered around Rs 8,000 crore using shell companies.
The agency had also arrested a chartered accountant Rajesh Agrawal who allegedly provided "Rs 90 lakh to the Jain brothers in advance to invest in Mishail Packers and Printers Pvt Ltd as share premium". Bharti and Kumar are alleged to have been directors of this firm in the past.
"Mishail Packers and Printers Pvt Ltd was registered at the address 25, Tuglak Road, New Delhi till the shares were bought by Bharti. It was only in 2009-10 that the address was changed to 26, Palam Farms, VPO Bijwasan. Bharti and Kumar were the directors of the company during the relevant period," the ED said.
According to the ED, one of the beneficiaries of Jain brothers was Mishail Packers and Printers Pvt Ltd, which laundered unaccounted money of Rs. 1.20 crore by "taking accommodation entries in the form of share capital and share premium by various shell companies controlled by the Jains. This laundered money was utilised for purchase of a farm house at Bijwasan."
The ED claimed that 1.20 lakh shares of Mishail Packers and Printers were bought during 2007-08 and 2008-09 at Rs 100 per share by four shell companies — Shalini Holdings Ltd, Ad-Fin Capital Services(India) Pvt Ltd, Mani Mala Delhi Properties Pvt Ltd and Diamond Vinimay Pvt Ltd. The first three were controlled by the Jains while the fourth was managed by S K Shah. "The 1.20 lakh shares were bought by Misa Bharti at the price of Rs 12 per share in 2009," the ED said.
PALAM FARMS
- ED had conducted raids at three farmhouses owned by Bharti and Kumar on July 8
- Palam Farms is held in the name of Mishail Packers and Printers Pvt Ltd
- ED says it was purchased using Rs 1.2 crore laundered in 2008-09
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