NRI businessman C C Thampi has been arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in connection with a money-laundering probe involving Congress president Sonia Gandhi's son-in-law Robert Vadra and controversial arms dealer Sanjay Bhandari, officials said on Monday.
The case related to "illegally" acquiring assets abroad allegedly by Vadra from Bhandari. Bhandari's firm Santech FZE had purchased the property from a private firm, which was acquired by Thampi's Dubai-based company Sky Light, and later changed hands allegedly to Vadra.
ED had earlier claimed that Thampi, who was arrested on Friday, had emerged as a link in the case. He is claimed to have met Vadra through an aide of Sonia while Vadra had reportedly told the ED that he met him on board an Emirates flight some years ago.
The agency had claimed that it had zeroed on a few purported emails between Vadra and Bhandari, regarding the renovation of this flat. Officials said Thampi's questioning will reveal "missing links" in the case.
Thampi, who was issued show cause notices of over Rs 1,000 crore by the ED in 2017, was also facing probe involving the purchase of a property in Kerala that allegedly violated the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA).
Officials said the show-cause notices were issued to him earlier and his companies Holiday City Centre Pvt Ltd, Holiday Properties Pvt Ltd and Holiday Bekal Resorts Pvt Ltd were under the ED scanner.
Investigators are also looking into his links with certain politicians and bureaucrats.
In connection with the probe against Vadra, the ED had earlier sought from the United Kingdom ownership details and financial transactions related to the purchase of around half-a-dozen immovable properties. Vadra has denied allegations against him and claimed that he was being subjected to "sensation and unnecessary drama" by the repeatedly summoning him by the ED.
According to the ED, the case relates to money laundering in the purchase of a London-based property -- located at 12, Bryanston Square -- worth 1.9 million pounds. Investigators had earlier claimed that it has information about various new properties in London which belongs to Vadra, including two houses of five and four million each, six other flats and more properties.
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