File photo of Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje
Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje finds herself combatting charges of impropriety on two counts when it comes to Lalit Modi, the former chief of the Indian Premier League, who lives in London.
Mr Modi has alleged that in 2011, when he sought to extend his stay in the UK, Ms Raje backed his application with a document filed in court that sought confidentiality for her support.
The politician has said she is not aware of the document Mr Modi has cited. What could prove to be more damning is the business deal between her son, Dushyant Singh, and Mr Modi that is now being investigated by Enforcement Directorate.
Documents show that Mr Singh and his wife in 2013 declared the nearly 6,000 shares they held in their firm, Niyant Heritage Hotel Pvt Limited, were worth Rs 10 each. Their combined stake was worth about Rs 65,000 according to their income tax returns. But before that, in two tranches in 2008 and 2009, Mr Modi bought shares in the same firm at nearly Rs 96,000 each. So each share purchased by his company, Ananda Heritage Hotels, was with more than the collective stake of Mr Singh and his wife. Mr Modi's company also granted an unsecured loan of Rs 11 crore to Mr Singh's firm.
In a press statement, Mr Singh, a 41-year-old national lawmaker,
denied any wrong doing, claiming that all transactions of his company were legitimate and "every fact has been mentioned in the IT (income tax) returns which is available."
A source in the Enforcement Directorate involved in the investigation into this transaction told NDTV that since its inception, Ananda Heritage appeared not to have transacted any business, leading to suspicions that it was a front company. "If a company receives foreign direct investment, then they will have to utilise it but it doesn't look like Ananda has," the source said.
Mr Modi moved to London in 2010 after he was swamped with allegations of graft in how he operated the IPL. His passport was cancelled by India in 2011, and restored last year by the Delhi High Court.