The Enforcement Directorate (ED) today attached a luxury hotel worth crores located in Delhi belonging to alleged corporate lobbyist Deepak Talwar. Hotel Holiday Inn, located in upscale Aerocity area of the national capital, valued at Rs 120 crore has been provisionally attached by the ED as part of an investigation being conducted against Deepak Talwar and his family in a money laundering case.
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ED has filed a prosecution complaint in the Patiala High Court, Delhi against Talwar for allegedly conniving with politician and bureaucrats and granting profitable routes of Air India to private airlines. Talwar’s son Aditya Talwar has also been made an accused in the charge sheet.
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The court has extended the judicial custody of the Congress era lobbyist till April 15, the same date on which the court will take cognisance of the ED complaint.
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Talwar had allegedly secured traffic rights for certain airlines illegally at the cost of Air India. “Investigation under Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) was initiated by ED in August 2017 on the basis of FIR registered by Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) against officials of Ministry of Civil Aviation, NACIL, Air India and unknown private persons. He illegally managed to secure favourable traffic rights for these airlines during 2008-09 at the cost of National carrier, Air India,” said an ED press note.
The press note further said that these foreign airlines companies paid Talwar around Rs 272 crore. “It has been revealed that Talwar created a web of entities owned by him and his family members in India and international offshore havens to launder proceeds of crime received from foreign airlines,” the press note claimed. Parts of these payments were transferred to a Bank of Singapore account belonging to a company Asiafield Limited registered in the British Virgin Islands and beneficially owned by Talwar.
The ED has alleged that the money received by Talwar was layered through a series of international money transfers and ultimately integrated into Wave Hospitality Private Limited, a company beneficially owned and controlled by the Talwar family in the name of Deepak Talwar’s son Aditya Talwar. The same money was utilised in the constructions of the hotel Holiday Inn that has been provisionally attached by the ED.
Talwar was extradited to India from Dubai in the month of January this year along with VVIP Chopper Scam accused Rajiv Saxena.
It is notable here that recently a letter had emerged where senior Congress leader Digvijay Singh had ‘thanked’ the lobbyist for the services rendered to him.