RJD MP arrested in Delhi in money laundering case

NEW DELHI: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has arrested Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) Rajya Sabha MP Amarendra Dhari Singh in connection with its money laundering probe linked to an alleged fertilisers scam, officials said on Thursday.

They said Singh, 61, was picked up from his residence in New Delhi under Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

Singh was sent to the Rajya Sabha by RJD in March last year. The party said the case against him reeked of political vendetta.

The scandal, unearthed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) last month, involved the import of fertilisers and raw materials running into thousands of metric tonnes by Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative Limited (IFFCO) and Indian Potash Limited (IPL) from foreign suppliers at highly inflated rates.

CBI has alleged illegal commissions worth over Rs 685 crore were given to the NRI sons of IFFCO managing director and CEO U S Awasthi and IPL managing director Parvinder Singh Gahlaut as well as others by overseas suppliers from 2007-14. This was done through sham transactions disguised as consultancy agreements facilitated by Rajiv Saxena who is already under investigation in the AgustaWestland scam, a VVIP chopper deal that got mired in corruption charges. The modus operandi of this case too is similar, officials said.

In its FIR filed on May 17 against Awasthi, Gahlaut and their sons, CBI named Singh and Saxena as accused as well. Based on this, ED launched its money laundering probe last month. Singh is a senior vice-president of a Dubai-based firm named Jyoti Trading Corporation.

The RJD expressed solidarity with their MP. “Centre, through its agencies, has been targeting the Opposition leaders. We are yet to get the details of his arrest. But the party stands behind him,” said Mrityunjay Tiwary, RJD spokesperson.

Awasthi and Gahlaut could not be located for comments.