Punjab Vigilance writes to ED seeks probe into Majithia's case

     Chandigarh, Nov 5 (PTI) The Punjab Vigilance Bureau has written to the Enforcement Directorate (ED), seeking an investigation into the Rs 736.96-crore alleged money laundering case involving Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Bikram Singh Majithia.

     The vigilance investigation points to an extensive financial network used to generate, route, layer and conceal unaccounted wealth through family members, close associates, multiple companies and foreign entities, an official statement claimed.

     "The investigation identifies Akali Dal leader Bikram Singh Majithia as the mastermind and primary beneficiary of the money laundering network. The probe into the drug money trail, including money claimed to have been generated through drug sales, has brought Rs 736.96 crore in proceeds of crime under scrutiny," it claimed.

     The vigilance findings point to the use of family members, close associates and multiple corporate structures to move and conceal funds, it said.

     The investigation points to a three-stage process of generation, layering and integration, tracing transactions through domestic companies and foreign entities in Cyprus and Singapore, it further claimed.

     "The funds were converted into properties, aircraft, investments and other assets held in the names of family members and associates, while Majithia remained the primary beneficiary, according to the investigation," it stated.

     The Punjab Vigilance Bureau approached the ED for further investigation into the alleged money-laundering aspects of the case.

     "The findings place the focus on the Rs 736.96-crore financial trail and the network of transactions, companies and individuals used to route and conceal the wealth," it said.

     Last month, the Punjab Vigilance Bureau (VB) filed a final chargesheet in the disproportionate assets case against Majithia, who is the brother-in-law of SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal.

     In the FIR registered against Majithia, the VB had claimed that investigations revealed that more than Rs 540 crore of "drug money" had been laundered through several ways and it was allegedly facilitated by Majithia.

     Following further investigation, the amount reached Rs 736 crore. This FIR against Majithia stems from an investigation conducted by a Punjab Police special investigation team into the 2021 drug case.

     In 2021, Majithia was booked under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act. The action was taken on the basis of a 2018 report of the anti-drug Special Task Force.

     Majithia spent more than five months in Patiala jail and walked out of prison in August 2022 after the Punjab and Haryana High Court granted him bail. He called the charges a "bundle of lies".

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)