The Bharatiya Janata Party on Thursday asked Congress leader Kapil Sibal to respond to a news report that claimed he bought a company from a businessman under investigation for money laundering. The party also sought his response to another report that alleged that the deal got Sibal a plot of land in Delhi at a cost lower than its value.
Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Smriti Irani made the allegations based on a report by South African news website Daily Maverick published in January, and another published by Indian website Opindia on Wednesday.
Citing the news reports, Irani said that Sibal and his wife had got ownership of a company called Grande Castello from a “person who was being probed by [the] Central Bureau of Investigation for bribery during the previous Congress-led government, and whom South African journalists have accused of money laundering”.
She was referring to businessman Piyoosh Goyal, the founder of Worlds Window, which the South African news report said was an Indian scrap metal and logistics conglomerate. Grande Castello was a fully-owned subsidiary of Worlds Window until Sibal became a director in February 2017, the Daily Maverick reported, citing Indian government records. “It appeared to be a shell company, without assets or revenues,” the report had said.
Irani also quoted from Indian website Opindia, which on Wednesday said that Grand Castello greatly devalued a piece of prime land it owned in New Delhi just a year before Sibal and his wife bought the company.
Irani said that though Sibal had the right to engage with such a company, “is it politically acceptable to [Congress President] Rahul Gandhi?”
In response, Sibal said a “person who does not know the meaning of money laundering” was making allegations against him. “Yes, I bought the company, does anyone mind?” Sibal said to ANI. “I paid and did so from my earnings, tax for which was paid by me, but no one saw it.”
In the Daily Maverick report, Sibal was quoted to have denied that he was a director of Grande Castello.
Limited-time offer: Big stories, small price. Keep independent media alive. Become a Scroll member today!
Our journalism is for everyone. But you can get special privileges by buying an annual Scroll Membership. Sign up today!