The Enforcement Directorate on Tuesday attached a farmhouse in New Delhi in connection with the money laundering investigation against Rashtriya Janata Dal Chief Lalu Prasad Yadav’s daughter Misa Bharti, ANI reported.
The farmhouse, which belongs to Bharti and her husband Shailesh Kumar, is located in South Delhi’s Bijwasan area. It has been attached provisionally under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, PTI reported. The farmhouse was held in the name of M/S Mishail Packers and Printers Private Limited, the Enforcement Directorate said, adding that it was purchased using Rs 1.2 crore that had been laundered in 2008-09.
Bharti and Kumar are being investigated over allegations that they acquired benami ownership of land at subsidised rates. A benami property is one bought in a certain person’s name though the real beneficiary is someone else. In July, the agency had conducted raids at three properties in New Delhi that allegedly belong to the couple. They face up to seven years in jail and a heavy fine if convicted under the Benami Transactions Act.
They are accused of having links with suspected shell company M/S Mishail Packers and Printers Private Limited. In May 2017, the Enforcement Directorate had arrested chartered accountant Rajesh Agarwal for his alleged involvement in the money laundering racket worth Rs 8,000 crore. Agarwal’s arrest was also connected to an investigation by the Income Tax Department into dubious land deals worth Rs 1,000-crore linked to Lalu Prasad Yadav’s family.
In July, the Central Bureau of Investigation had registered a case against Lalu Prasad Yadav, his wife Rabri Devi and son Tejaswi Yadav on allegations of corruption during his tenure as railway minister in 2006. The agency had raided more than 12 locations, including their houses in Delhi, Gurugram, Patna, Ranchi and Puri.
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