Majithia case: Badal dares CM Mann to prove foreign funding by Saraya Industries

Chandigarh, Jun 28 (PTI) Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal on Saturday dared Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann to prove that Saraya Industries, in which party leader Bikram Singh Majithia had an inherited share of 11 per cent, had received even one rupee in foreign funding from 2007.

Lashing out at the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government for arresting Majithia, Badal said that a case was registered against the former Akali minister because he was "constantly exposing" the Mann dispensation over various issues.

The Punjab Vigilance Bureau arrested Majithia on June 25 in a disproportionate assets case allegedly involving laundering of Rs 540 crore "drug money".

The Vigilance Bureau claimed the preliminary investigations revealed that more than Rs 540 crore of drug money was laundered through several channels allegedly facilitated by Majithia, who is the brother-in-law of the SAD president.

It included huge unaccounted cash worth Rs 161 crore deposited in bank accounts of companies controlled by Majithia, channelisation of Rs 141 crore through suspected foreign entities, excess deposition of Rs 236 crore without disclosure or explanation in company financial statements and acquisition of movable and immovable assets by Majithia without any legitimate sources of income.

Addressing the media here, the SAD chief trashed the Vigilance Bureau's claims against Majithia regarding the disproportionate assets.

"The only foreign funding received by Saraya Industries was in March, 2006 (one year before the SAD formed the government in the state) when it received Rs 35 crore from the US-based Clearwater Corporation in exchange for 25 per cent shares in the company. Majithia entered politics only in 2007," said Badal.

"Clearwater Corporation, which had offices in several countries, had invested Rs 50,000 crore globally. All money invested by this company through the NBFC in Saraya Industries was done after due clearance from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and approval of the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB)," he added.

Badal also said that all transactions of Saraya Industries were scrutinized and accepted by the Income Tax department.

"This clearly proves that claims of an investment of Rs 540 crore into Saraya Industries through foreign funding are absurd and malicious and being done with the sole purpose of defaming Majithia," he added.

The SAD chief also clarified that all cash transactions done by Saraya Industries while procuring sugarcane and conducting distillery business had also been scrutinized by the Income Tax department.

Badal stated that Saraya Industries Ltd was a private limited company deemed to be a public limited company and was a different entity from Majithia and could not be associated with the latter.

"Majithia has no control over the company's day-to-day functioning," he said.

Badal accused Chief Minister Mann of pressurizing the state police chief to register a case against Majithia.

The SAD chief claimed that no investigation had been done before registering the case.

"The Vigilance department did not deem it fit to issue a questionnaire to Majithia which is a prerequisite before filing such a case," he said.

Badal said an affidavit, which the government had submitted to the Supreme Court in 2023 while appealing for cancellation of the regular bail given to Majithia and seeking his custodial interrogation in the 2021 drug case, was used "verbatim" to register this new case against him.

"This was done despite the fact that the Supreme Court rejected the affidavit in April this year and refused to overturn the regular bail given to Majithia by the high court or grant the request for custodial interrogation. The apex court even asked the AAP government to complete the probe in two days following which it has now taken this new route to engage in political vendetta," he claimed.

The SAD president also condemned the manner in which retired officers -- former DGP Siddharth Chattopadhyaya and former deputy director of Enforcement Directorate Niranjan Singh -- were called by the Vigilance Bureau to share information regarding the drug case.

Terming the entire case as "illegal and a willful fabrication", Badal said, "We will go to people and expose the AAP government." PTI CHS AS AS