Rs 27-cr farmhouse of Virbhadra attached

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virbhadra

The Enforcement Directorate has attached the Rs 27.29-crore Delhi farmhouse of Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh in a money laundering case, an official said on Monday.

The agency attached the farmhouse in Dera Mandi village near Mehrauli under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.

“The property’s purchase value is Rs 6.61 crore, though its market value is over Rs 27 crore. Singh used his ‘illicit’ money to purchase it in the name of Maple Destinations and Dreambuild, wherein his son Vikramaditya (major shareholder) and daughter Aparajita (minor shareholder) are directors,” the Enforcement Directorate official said.

He said the farmhouse was purchased for Rs 1.20 crore as per its registry value, and payment made by two cheques for Rs 15 lakh each and two for Rs 45 lakh each, while Rs 5.41 crore was paid in cash.

The official said the farmhouse was purchased by funding done through shell companies and it was the second attachment in the case.

Investigators found that the funds for the farmhouse’s purchase were provided through Vakamulla Chandrashekar, promoter and director of Tarini Group of companies engaged in hydroelectricity projects. “Incidentally, Chandrashekar’s company was awarded the Saikothi plant in  Chamba district. The money for the farmhouse was given through cheques from Chandrashekar’s personal bank accounts in Delhi. He had given a total of Rs 5.9 crore to Singh and family,” the official said.

The ED’s move came after the CBI filed a chargesheet against the CM and others for allegedly amassing assets worth Rs 6.03 crore

Story : The Tribune