ED attaches assets of Haryana Congress MLA

New Delhi:Just days before the Haryana Assembly elections, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has provisionally attached assets worth over Rs 44 crore belonging to Haryana Congress MLA Rao Dan Singh, his son, and others in connection with an ongoing money-laundering investigation.

Rao Dan Singh, the sitting MLA from Mahendragarh, is contesting the October 5 Haryana Assembly polls on a Congress ticket.

The ED made the attachment on Thursday, which includes 31 flats in Coban Residency, Sector 99A, Gurugram, and a 2.25-acre plot in Harsaru village, Gurugram, allegedly owned by Rao Dan Singh and his son Akshat Singh. In a statement, the ED also mentioned that properties in Delhi, Gurugram, Rewari (Haryana), and Jaipur (Rajasthan), linked to Suncity Projects Private Limited and ILD Group, have been seized.

The money-laundering case stems from a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) FIR against Allied Strips Limited, which allegedly committed a bank loan fraud amounting to Rs 1,392.86 crore, involving a consortium of banks led by Canara Bank.

The ED claims that entities linked to Singh received Rs 19 crore from funds allegedly diverted through the loan fraud, which were then invested in purchasing flats and land. According to the agency, these entities manipulated their books by squaring off amounts with other individuals.

The ED has also alleged that Rao Dan Singh and his family have yet to join the investigation. Previously, cash amounting to Rs 1.42 crore and incriminating documents related to undisclosed properties, bank lockers, and trusts were seized during searches at the premises of entities linked to Akshat Singh.

According to the ED, the fraud involved siphoning funds borrowed from banks through unsecured loans, bogus transactions, and debt write-offs, with the proceeds being used to purchase land and other long-term investments.

Rao Dan Singh, a four-term MLA and businessman, had contested the Lok Sabha elections earlier this year from the Bhiwani-Mahendragarh constituency as a Congress candidate, where he was defeated by BJP’s Dharambir Singh by over 41,000 votes. Singh is known to be close to former Haryana Chief Minister and Leader of Opposition Bhupinder Singh Hooda.