While AAP is busy distracting from the nature of accusations against Nitin Gadkari by suffering more damage than him and talking about that suffering rather than multiple-DIN Nitin Gadkari (it is an evil denounced by the BJP with much outrage), it is a good time to put them up again and leave readers to decide whether this is corruption or an innocent being defamed with false accusations.
These are direct extracts from investigative reporting by media houses. Nitin Gadkari is welcome to sue them for defamation as well.
This is IBNLive
Nitin Gadkari aides including ex-driver were directors in 26 companies
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YArgf0pOOB8
Days after revelations of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President Nitin Gadkari’s former driver being the director of some of the alleged benami companies that funded Gadkari’s company, CNN-IBN has now accessed more documents. The documents show that four of Gadkari’s very close aides, including his former driver and accountant, have been directors in at least 26 companies and that too within a period of the past four years.
Gadkari’s former driver, Manohar Panse was a director in 11 companies between 2009 and 2011. Gadkari’s very close aide, Kawdu Zade, has been a director in 16 companies in the same period. Purti employee Nishant Agnihotri has been a director in 13 companies.
A very close aide, Sagar Kotwaliwale has been a director in 9 companies. Like the controversial Purti Sugar and Power Private Ltd. in Nagpur, there are three more companies controlled by the 4 close aides of Gadkari.
CNN-IBN had on Thursday also accessed details of one of the alleged shell companies that invested in Gadkari’s Purti Group. Regency Equifin Pvt Ltd interestingly has Gadkari’s accountant Kawu Zade and other employees in Purti as directors.
Also, records show that Regency Equifin both borrowed from and lent money to Gadkari. The company bought shares worth Rs 4 crore in Gadkari’s Purti Group in 2008. The 2008-09 balance sheet of Regency Equifin shows Gadkari gave unsecured loans of Rs 26 lakh. In 2011, the balance sheet of Regency Equifin shows that the loss-making Purti gave Rs 95 lakh to it.
The Income Tax department on Thursday began probe into Purti Power and Sugar Ltd (PPSL). I-T authorities said they will also probe source of funds of the 18 companies that invested in Purti. Prima facie evidence suggested that shell companies had invested in Purti. Sources said that if necessary Gadkari might also be summoned in the case.
“I-T departments of Mumbai and Pune have started their probe into Gadkari’s Purti Power and Sugar Ltd,” sources said. The agency is also expected to submit a report to Central Board Direct Taxes (CBDT) soon.
The 18 companies will be summoned in due course. I-T department sources said that it would be very difficult to prove the quid pro quo. “If necessary Gadkari might also be summoned but that call will be taken by investigating officer in due course of the probe. I-T has already started gathering documents relating to these companies,” said sources.
“We will trace the source the funds of the companies including the 18 companies that invested in Purti,” a top I-T official said on condition of anonymity. He said prima facie ‘shell’ companies (inactive firms used as a vehicle for various financial manoeuvres or kept dormant for future use in some other capacity) had pumped money into PPSL.
Gadkari is at the centre of a raging controversy over funding of PPSL with media reports claiming that major investments and large loans to Purti were made by Ideal Road Builders (IRB) group, which had won contracts between 1995 and 1999, when the BJP chief was PWD minister in Maharashtra.
Reports also claimed that shell companies were floated for making investments and their fake addresses were submitted to the Registrar of Companies. On Tuesday, Corporate Affairs Minister Veerappa Moily had said that Registrars of Companies would inquire into the allegations. On his part, Gadkari has denied the allegations and said he was prepared for a probe.
Here’s more from BJP’s oh so loyal Times Now.
Here. One more from Times Now
Here NDTV finds that these supposed directors may not be aware of being directors and address provided for firms are fake.
Astrologer, driver are directors of investor firms for Nitin Gadkari’s company
Through a partly opened door Manisha Sharma said, “My husband Vishnu Sharma is an astrologer. He works from home, looking at people’s horoscopes. He does not work anywhere else.” Mrs Sharma was responding to questions about her husband’s links with BJP president Nitin Gadkari. Mr Sharma himself, his wife said, was away in Jaipur.
Vishnu Sharma is listed as a Director in Ashwami Sales and marketing and Earnwell Traders, both of which have bought over Rs. 5.5 crore worth of shares in Mr Gadkari’s Purti Group. According to documents filed with the registrar of companies, Mr Sharma was appointed a Director of Ashwami Sales and Marketing in June this year.
Ashwami shares its company’s address with two other entities – Earnwell Traders Private Limited and Swiftsol India Private Limited. But none of these companies exist at the address, 10 Govind Karman Chawl, in suburban Mumbai’s Malad. It’s the residence of the Soni family since the last 15 years.
Earnwell and Swiftsol together own about Rs. 5 crore worth of shares in Purti.
Ever since NDTV exposed mystery companies that have invested in Nitin Gadkari’s Purti Power and Sugar Private Limited, more details of these companies and its Directors are emerging everyday.
All of them point to the loopholes in Mr Gadkari’s defence. On Saturday, when NDTV broke the story of mystery investors in his Purti Group, Mr Gadkari had said his investors are friendly businessmen and professionals who he turned to fund his company.
Nitin Gadkari had said, “Any individual can purchase any share from any company. Basically there are 10,000 farmers. The farmers are the members of Purti. Now on that equity it was difficult to get the loan, so we approached many people from society – industrialists, traders, businessmen, investors.”
But what is emerging is that investor companies have as their directors astrologers, Mr Gadkari’s personal aides and his own driver Manohar Panse. One of these companies is Ashwami, the same which has Vishnu Sharma, the astrologer as its Director.
When NDTV went to the residential address of Mr Panse in Nagpur, given by the company to the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, we were told that he did not live there. He lives exactly opposite, in Wada, Mr Gadkari’s’ home in Nagpur. Today though Mr Panse, we were told, was not there.
Instead, we met his son who said he had no idea if his father was a Director in one of the companies that had invested so much money in Mr Gadkari’s company. Amit Panse said if his father was made Director, it was because he has been working loyally for Mr Gadkari for 22 years.
Panse was also a Director at one point in another mystery company All Wise Finvest. This company has bought shares worth Rs. 3 crore into Purti Power and Sugar Private Limited.
False addresses, directors who are personal aides, directors who are clueless about the existence of these mystery companies – all raising questions about the sources of funding of Purti Group.
So here is the icing on the cake of these investigations. Threats to Income Tax officers. This would be Economic Times.
Nitin Gadkari threatens I-T officials investigating Nagpur-based Purti Group
A bellicose Nitin Gadkari on Thursday threatened revenge against Income Tax officials, who are investigating his controversial dealing with the Nagpur-based Purti Group. A day after the sangh parivar capitulated to outraged public opinion and handpicked Rajnath Singh to lead the BJP, Gadkari warned the tax officials of “retribution” when a government headed by his party takes over the Centre.
Financial jugglery appears to be an open secret. Here’s what the Commission of Inquiry on the Adarsh Housing Society found according to The Hindu. Of course, Maharashtra Cabinet scrapped the report right off the bat.
Gadkari aides figure in benami transactions
A firm, of which MP Ajay Sancheti’s brother Abhay is director, financed 8 buyers in Adarsh
The Commission of Inquiry on the Adarsh Housing Society has found 22 transactions to be benami, eight of the buyers having been financed by the San Finance Corporation, of which the BJP Rajya Sabha member Ajay Sancheti’s brother Abhay is a director. The Sanchetis are considered close aides of the former party president, Nitin Gadkari.
All 22 transactions are barred under the Benami Transaction (Prohibition) Act 1988, says the report, since tabled in the Maharashtra Assembly and already rejected by the Cabinet.
I guess someone needs to explain to Gadkari that it ain’t defamation if it is true.
There were nice attempts to whitewash Gadkari but content doesn’t really die on the internet.
why you are considering this only as tax evasion. When he was the PWD minister in most of road contract went to IRB group and IRB group given an interest free loan of 164 crore to Purti group and you don’t smell any corruption here.
more details at wikipedia : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nitin_Gadkari
Specifically for adarsh ur article is irrelevant as it has old data. Manish tewari has apologized for exactly adarsh scam defamation of gadkari.
As for kejrieal someone needs to explain to him that tax offence is not corruption. Also going after someone without proof and then being martyr of judicial system is not conducive to his fight for accountability. He should learn for SWAGAT of the gujarat govt. He can learn a lot from modi and had he done the right thing by alligning with those on the right side of things he wud not have been in such a pathetic condition. He hasadvisors such as yogendra yadav who r known to be rahul aides.he reminds me of szam khan. Both extremely polite and both extremely hidden behind that facade.
Your views are quite interesting. You are charging Kejriwal was false accusations but at the same time praising modi for not doing so.
Kejriwal first accused Vadra of misdoings, which BJP knew but did nothing. In the elections, modi used the same issue against ‘damadji’ and ironically one of the two states where the loot happened is Rajasthan and till date no enquiry has been ordered by state BJP government.
You have given a new interpretation to corruption by excluding tax evasion out of it. Gadkari who broke tax law and company law to take benefit is not a corruption according to you. This means only the minnows who take small bribes are corrupt but all acts of twisting laws and taking the benefit by big and powerful is not corruption.
Great copy pasting. I myself never went into the details of this case and believeed kejrieal to have proof of CORRUPTION against nitin gadkari.
all these statements on being inspected only mean that there seems to have been some amount of tax evasion and can constitute an economic offence. That too if the papers are shoddy and there is proof to that effect. If we hold everything here to be true and not fudged he can be liable to pay tax on an amount of 70-odd lacs and by 30% it would amount to 21lacs.
Does kejriwal mean to say that top 10 most corrupt in India only omit paying tax for 21 lacs??? Then shahrukh kahn, salman khan and others too need to be probed. Seriosuly vidyut… seriously u need to look at the content.
I am amazed that some people are so vlind in drvotion to aap they forget to look at the big picture. This case is at worst a tax evasion. Go back to why gadkari came in the news. Bcoz madam damnia of aap alleged that he rfused to stand up against sharad pawar to get her someland. If u go into details of damnia u will find out she has lied to get land as farmer.
Kejriwal has to pay for saying things without content and maligning someone like this. I too believed his stuff. But this case has no substance. Pls google manish twwari apology to ntiin gadkari. Even rhe congress was forced to apologize to gadkari for false allegtions.
the funny thing is congress and kejtieal came up with allegations simultaneously against gadkari. Now on hindsight that is so fishy…..
gadkari wud come out clean. At worst it is a case of IT dept and congress tried tooth and nail but eventually had to drop even an income tax case as far as having family members as director perhaps u r unaware that it is perfectly legal. I own a company eith 3 people of the family as director. Also I own a subsidiary and have a sharing with accountant and other workers as a means of giving them share in the company to motivste them to help it grow. It could be tweaking of account books. Kejrieal has chosen the wrong target.
Tax evasion is not corruption? Really? And what about creating companies with fake addresses? And directors who don’t know they are directors? Kitna ullu banoge? Kitna ullu banaoge?
funny argument by nitasha… 21lacs of tax evasion by a public figure is not corruption!! Why did Gadkari threaten IT officials????????
…and who has stopped IT dept from investigating shahrukh kahn, salman khan and others???
so many news channels have questioned the source of money, suspicious loan taking/giving, fake addresses, drivers as directors…. I haven’t heard of a single defamation case against those news channels?
Strange nation we live in. People jump in to protect the corrupt… 🙁
It is surprising that when people are charging Kejriwal of accusing Gadkari are shown the evidences given by others are saying it an act of copy and paste. These people are purposely keeping the eye closed to the evidences shared by the same channels who have been advertising for BJP.
How it can be ignored that the charges leveled against Gadkari are being seen as true by others also. Would Gadkari sue for defamation against these channels, that is the question?