Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav arrives to look before the Enforcement Directorate for questioning in a money-laundering case linked to the railways land-for-jobs rip-off, in New Delhi, on April 11, 2023.
| Photo Credit: PTI
Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav on April 11 appeared before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in New Delhi for questioning in a money-laundering case linked to the alleged land-for-jobs rip-off case. The 33-year-old Yadav, the son of Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief and former Bihar Chief Minister Lalu Prasad, reached the federal company’s workplace in Central Delhi in a carcade round 10.45 a.m.
He was questioned by the CBI on this case final month. The ED booked a separate case beneath the prison sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) based mostly on the CBI FIR and it recorded the assertion of Tejashwi Yadav on Tuesday, sources mentioned.
Tejashwi Yadav’s MP sister Misa Bharti was additionally questioned by the ED on this case on March 25, the identical day he had deposed before the CBI. Both the Central companies just lately initiated motion within the case, with the CBI questioning Lalu Prasad and his spouse and former Bihar Chief Minister Rabri Devi and the ED finishing up raids in opposition to the RJD chief’s household.
The ED, after the searches, mentioned it seized “unaccounted cash” of ₹1 crore and detected proceeds of crime price ₹600 crore.
It mentioned the investigation was beneath option to unearth extra investments made on behalf of Lalu Prasad’s household and their associates in varied sectors, together with actual property, at varied locations.
The alleged rip-off pertains to the interval when Lalu Prasad was the Railway Minister within the UPA-1 authorities on the Centre. Making a selected point out about Tejaswi Yadav, the ED had mentioned a property located at D-1088, New Friends Colony in south Delhi is an unbiased four-storeyed bungalow registered within the title of AB Exports Private Limited. This firm has been referred to as a “beneficiary firm” on this case.
The ED had mentioned this firm is “owned and controlled” by Tejashwi Yadav and his household and this home was proven to have been acquired at a price of mere ₹4 lakh whereas the current market worth of which is roughly ₹150 crore.
“It is suspected that a huge amount of cash/proceeds of crime has been infused in purchasing this property and few Mumbai based entities, dealing in the gems and jewellery sector were used to channel ill-gotten proceeds of crime in this regard,” the ED had alleged.
“The property has been though, on paper, declared as an office of AB Exports Private Limited and AK Infosystems Private Limited, it is being exclusively used as residential premises by Tejaswi Prasad Yadav, son of Lalu Prasad Yadav.
“During the searches, Tejaswi Prasad Yadav was discovered to be staying at this home and was discovered to be utilizing this home as his residential property,” the ED said.
It is alleged that during the period 2004-09, various persons were appointed to Group D positions in various zones of the Indian Railways, and in lieu, the persons concerned transferred their land to the family members of Prasad, the then minister of railways, and AK Infosystems Private Limited.
It is alleged by the CBI that no advertisement or public notice was issued for the appointment but some residents of Patna were appointed as substitutes in different zonal railways located at Mumbai, Jabalpur, Kolkata, Jaipur and Hazipur.
As a quid pro quo, the candidates, directly or through their immediate family members, allegedly sold land to the family members of Prasad at highly discounted rates, up to one-fourth to one-fifth of the prevailing market rates, the CBI had alleged.
Denying the allegations,Tejashwi Yadav, after the questioning of his parents by the CBI, had told reporters that the then Railway Minister Prasad had “no powers” to present employment in change for favours.
