'Sushil Modi amassed benami properties using his brother's shell companies,' alleges Tejashwi Yadav

In a tit for tat move, Rashtriya Janta Dal on Friday sought to trump Bihar deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi with corruption charges, an apparent come back for the latter’s scathing attack on the Yadav family over various graft cases.

Leader of opposition in Bihar Assembly, Tejashwi Yadav charged Modi with buying two flats in Uttar Pradesh without mentioning the sources of money paid for buying them.  The Bihar deputy chief minister, however, denied the allegation.

Tejashwi alleged that Modi is embroiled in a large scale real estate scam with another person, RK Modi who he claimed was Modi’s brother.

In a series of tweets, Tejashwi alleged that Modi was using his elder sibling’s shell companies to convert his black money into white. Tejashwi claimed that Modi also bought a flat in Ghaziabad from a company owned by the same person, however, he claimed that Modi did not disclose the mode of payment for the purchase.

सुशील मोदी ने सपत्नी 2006 में अपने भाई की कंपनी साकेत एस्टेट से गाज़ियाबाद मे 14,49000 मे फ़्लैट ख़रीदा लेकिन यह नही बताया कैश से या चेक से? pic.twitter.com/1GyoqJy6oS

— Tejashwi Yadav (@yadavtejashwi) September 1, 2017

सुशील मोदी अपने भाई को रिश्तेदार बताते है, उन्ही की कंपनी से फ़्लैट ख़रीदते है और भुगतान का विवरण भी नहीं देते।यहाँ सब काले का खेल है। pic.twitter.com/qKwqnXizcU

— Tejashwi Yadav (@yadavtejashwi) September 1, 2017

Tejashwi further alleged that Rajkumar Modi and his two sons owned several real estate companies including, Ashiana Homes Pvt Ltd, Saket Estate Private Limited, Ashiana Landcraft Realty Private limited, which he claimed were nothing but a web of shell companies to legalise his illegal money. He said that by granting his brother and his sons, his power of attorey, Modi had amassed properties worth several crores.

Addressing a press conference, Tejashwi also claimed that Modi later sold the flat in 2015 for Rs 85 lakh. He also alleged that another flat was purchased in Modi’s wife’s name in 2010 in Dadri, however, the mode of payment was once again not revealed, Hindustan  reported. Tejashwai claimed that it was not clear in the registered deed if the money for purchasing the flat was paid in cash or through cheque adding that the information was withheld on purpose.

Tejashwi said that he would submit documents to Income Tax department, Enforcement Directorate, CBI and other agencies besides the prime minister and Bihar chief minister for initiating action in the case.

He also demanded that Chief Minister Nitish Kumar ask his deputy to clarify his stand in this issue.

Earlier too, RJD’s national spokesperson Manoj Jha had levelled similar allegations against Modi. Jha had claimed that Rajkumar was in cahoots with a notorious hawala operator Lalit Kumar Chhabaria. A report in Hindi news daily  Patrika  claims that Chhabariya was made a director in one of Rajkumar’s company, even though he is not a share holder. The RJD also alleged that most of the companies owned by Rajkumar or his family are registered at an address in Chowrangi Lane in Kolkata, even though their business interests lie in National Capital Region and northern India, while the owners were based out of Bihar.

सुशील मोदी सभी फ़्लैट Money Laundering के बेताज बादशाह ललित छाछवरिया और अपने भाई की कंपनी से ही क्यों ख़रीदते है? बताओ खुलासेबाज़?

— Tejashwi Yadav (@yadavtejashwi) September 1, 2017

2010 में फिर सुशील मोदी ने फ़्लैट अपने नहीं पहचानने वाले भाई की कंपनी से ही ख़रीदा। घर का काला धन घर की कंपनी में घुमा कर सफ़ेद करते है मोदी pic.twitter.com/e7dO0lF1wv

— Tejashwi Yadav (@yadavtejashwi) September 1, 2017

Jha also claimed that Ashiana Landcraft Realty Private Limited, a company worth over Rs 500 crore, has been logging zero turnover in past two financial years.

The party demanded an Enforcement Directorate probe in the matter and claimed that Modi had benefited from the multi-crore benami transactions undertaken by his brother’s shell companies while he was the deputy chief minister of Bihar.

Modi, meanwhile,  termed the allegations as “baseless, absurd and concocted” and meant to hide ‘sins’ of the family of Lalu Prasad. He said, “I have purchased the flat by taking Rs 10 lakh loans from ICICI Bank while paying the remaining amount through cheque… I have also furnished all these information in my Income Tax return and also to the Election Commission.”

It is Lalu Prasad who should tell the people how his wife Rabri Devi became the owner of 18 flats and his son Tejashwi became the owner of 26 properties at the age of 26 years, Sushil Modi said.

With inputs from PTI