Farmers Movement Archive

Punjab chief minister’s son summoned by Enforcement Directorate in illegal foreign funds case, to be questioned on Tuesday

The Enforcement Directorate has summoned Punjab chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh’s son Raninder Singh in the ongoing probe into an alleged illegal foreign funds case. Raninder has been asked to appear before the agency on October 27 for questioning at its zonal office in Jalandhar, officials told Hindustan Times.Earlier in August 2020, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) had filed three applications in a Ludhiana court for inspection of new documents filed by the Income Tax department in the cases against Punjab chief minister and his son. The matter is still pending with the district and sessions court in Ludhiana.In July 2016, Raninder had appeared before the ED in the same case and said he had nothing to hide. “I will attend the probe as they want me to and as I have nothing to hide,” Raninder had said.The ED officials, who maintain a tight-lip on the matter, claimed that Raninder has been summoned as part of the ongoing investigation in the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) violation case.Questioning the timing of the development into the case as the Punjab government-led by Captain Amarinder Singh has passed new bills to block Centre’s farm laws, the Congress party insiders called the move a “political vendetta” by the central government.The central agency had initiated actions against Raninder under FEMA after the Income Tax department filed a complaint in Ludhiana court saying he had lied under oath about trusts allegedly owned by him in Virgin Islands.Back in 2016, Raninder was summoned before the ED in connection with a FEMA violation. The IT department said that Raninder misguided the agency by claiming that he did have documents related to the family’s income and trusts abroad.The IT department alleged that Raninder was a ‘settler’ of Jacaranda Trust, which the family formed. Other undisclosed trusts include Mulwala Holdings Limited and Allworth Venture Holding Limited.The father and son also allegedly carried out ‘undisclosed’ financial transactions through a bank account in HSBC, Geneva, and HSBC Financial Services Limited (Middle East), the department said.The IT department also said the trusts were established in 2005 and most of the deals were routed through Virgin Islands. The agency submitted in the court that it has documents sourced from Virgin Islands which show Captain Amarinder Singh and his son Raninder as owners of Marine Mansions in Dubai and other properties in the United Kingdom. Both Amarinder and Raninder had earlier denied any wrongdoing and termed the charges false.Hindustan Times made several attempts to reach Raninder Singh for comments on the recent development but he remained unreachable. When contacted Punjab chief minister media advisor, Raveen Thukral, he also declined to comment on the matter.

Hindustan Times

23-10-2020

Chandigarh