The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has reportedly issued summon to Raninder Singh, son of Chief Minister of Punjab Captain Amarinder Singh, to appear before the agency for questioning. The summon has been issued by the ED in relation to the ongoing investigation against him in alleged forex contraventions and holding of untaxed foreign assets. According to reports, Singh has been summoned by the ED at its office in Jalandhar on October 27. He is expected to be questioned by the ED in connection with the alleged Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) violation.
Raninder Singh had earlier appeared before the ED in July, 2016 for interrogation regarding the alleged movement of funds to Switzerland and the creation of a trust named Jacaranda Trust and some subsidiaries in British Virgin Islands. The ED had filed an application on September 14, 2020 seeking inspection of the I-T files in three cases filed against Singh. The central agency was initially allowed to inspect the files but was later stopped after Raninder Singh submitted a revised petition contending that the ED had no locus standi as he was not served any notice by the agency. Jaiveer Shergill, the advocate of Raninder Singh said that he would examine the summons and the put up their case.
According to a report of Indian Express, CM Amarinder Singh and his wife Preneet Kaur were sent notices after the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) received information from France that Raninder Singh was the settler of Jacaranda Trust, which was the beneficial owner of various British Virgin Islands (BVI)-registered entities namely Chillingham Holdings Ltd, Limerlock International Ltd, Mulwala Holdings Ltd and Allworth Ventures Holding Ltd.
A document had emerged in 2016 in the complaint of the Income Tax Department in a Ludhiana court claiming that an offshore company allegedly linked with the CM’s son bought a house in Knightsbridge in London for £1.8 million. CM Amarinder Singh had dismissed the document as false and fabricated. He had termed the complaint as motivated. Another document dated September 1, 2005 included in the I-T Department’s complaint showed a record of a meeting between an HSBC relationship manager with Raninder Singh and his father-in-law Kuldip Dhingra. The document reportedly gave out several details of the meeting including the details of the properties purportedly discussed in the meeting. Raninder had, however, denied the meeting.
CM Amarinder Singh had questioned the authenticity of this document and had presented two letters from the HSBC saying that neither Raninder Singh and nor Preneet Kaur ever held accounts in the bank. The letters were signed by Managing Director of HSBC. The letters were submitted to the Income Tax Authorities in 2011.
