Rajasthan BJP MP Kirodi Lal Meena on Friday submitted a complaint to the Enforcement Directorate (ED) accusing Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot of converting black money into white money with the help of his friends sitting abroad.
In the complaint, Meena named Narendra Singh Dhindsa, who’s based out of London, Hitesh Bayani, a resident of the UK, and Yuk Latincic, a Russian national, as those helping Gehlot convert black money into white money.
Many others, including Ashok Gehlot’s son Vaibhav Gehlot and his daughter-in-law Himanshi Gehlot, were also named in the complaint, in which the Rajya Sabha MP alleged that a Mauritius-based shell company is involved in money laundering.
Meena reached the ED office on Friday afternoon along with his supporters and submitted the 10-page complaint to a joint director ranked officer.
He alleged in the complaint that Vaibhav Gehlot has connections with a businessman who runs ventures across the country using “illegal money channelised from Ashok Gehlot”.
The BJP leader said the “facts” presented in the complaint call for a detailed investigation by the ED.
Meena also alleged that tax evasion and ‘benami’ transactions were carried out by Vaibhav Gehlot and others.
The complaint against Vaibhav Gehlot, along with a person who is reportedly in business with him, seeks legal action under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
Earlier at a press conference on Thursday, Meena had claimed that investigations will reveal Ashok Gehlot to be the richest politician in the country.
He also claimed that the son of the Chief Minister had used a Mauritius-based illegal firm to invest Rs 96.75 crore in a hospitality entity operating a hotel in Jaipur. He alleged that the Gehlot family is using a shell company to convert their illegally acquired funds into legal ones through money laundering.
According to Meena’s statement, both the Mauritius-based company and the hospitality firm were established in 2007.
During his previous tenure as the Chief Minister, Ashok Gehlot had allegedly obtained authorisation for constructing hotels from the Jaipur Development Authority in 2009, Meena said.
He claimed there were inconsistencies in the authorisation given for hotel construction in Udaipur and Mount Abu, adding that these establishments were owned by individuals who had close ties to Ashok Gehlot.
Meena claimed that a shell company received an investment of Rs 100 crore from a doctor who is based out of London and is an NRI known to have a close ties with Ashok Gehlot.
Meanwhile, Ashok Gehlot said at an event on Friday, “Whenever elections near in states where opposition parties are in power, ED gets into action. The probe agency is working under pressure, which is not right. We do not have an issue with the ED or the CBI, but they should not work under any pressure.”
