ED summons Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot's son in foreign exchange violation case ahead of state elections

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday summoned Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot's son Vaibhav Gehlot in connection with a foreign exchange violation case under the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 (FEMA). Chief Minister Gehlot siad that he would a press conference in this regard today. 

ED's summon to Gehlot comes around two months after the central agency conducted searches at various locations in Jaipur, Udaipur, Mumbai and Delhi in connection with a money laundering case against the Mumbai-based firm named Triton Hotels and Resorts Pvt Ltd.

Triton Hotels and Resorts Pvt Ltd's director is Ratan Kant Sharma, the business partner of Vaibhav Gehlot at a car rental service. The development comes weeks before Rajasthan goes to polls in an assembly election. 

What is the case against Vaibhav Gehlot? 

The case had come under the central agency's radar after two residents of Jaipur filed a complaint in 2015 stating that Vaibhav Gehlot routed illegal funds from a Mauritius-based company Shivnar Holdings, which is suspected to a shell company. 

As per this complaint, funds were diverted from Shivnar Holdings to Triton Hotels and Resorts Pvt Ltd in 20111 by buying 2,500 shares of the hotel. The complainants said yhat the said shares were brought for Rs 39,900 each when the original share price was only Rs 100 per share. They also noted that Shivnar Holdings was created in 2006 and was meant for the sole purpose of routing black money. 

Triton Hotels and Resorts Pvt Ltd was registered on March 15, 2007 by Gehlot's close aide Ratan Kant Sharma, said the complaint. According to India Today, the ED found that that Triton Hotels received foreign direct investment (FDI) from Shivnar Holdings at a huge premium which was revised several times. 

The central agency also unearthed in its probe that Triton has been involved in cross-border hawala transactions. During the search operations across Jaipur, Udaipur, Mumbai and Delhi in August this year, the ED seized unaccounted cash worth Rs 1.27 crore, incriminating documents including digital evidence, hard disks and mobiles. 

The digital evidence detailed the large-scale transactions done by the group out of the books of account. Unaccounted cash receipts were also invested in the development of hotels, as per the central agency. 

(With inputs from Divyesh Singh) 

Also Read: Market extends fall: Sensex dives 700 points, Nifty below 18,900; Rs 20L cr investor wealth lost in six days

Also Read: Adani Power, AEL, Adani Green: Adani Group shares crash 8% over auditor issue