Black Money Hunt Brings ‘Donations’ to AAP Under ED Scanner

AAP links with alleged shell companies, which are under the ED scanner for laundering money, have come to light.

(Photo: Harsh Sahani/The Quint)

The Quint’s investigation reveals that the director of an alleged shell company, Beagle Marketing Pvt Ltd, and its auditor, are linked to other shell companies that the ED says gave donations of Rs 2 crore to the AAP.

In the wake of demonetisation, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) recently cracked down on several branches of Axis Bank and arrested two bank managers, Vinit Gupta and Shobit Sinha, as well as a Chartered Accountant (CA), Rajeev Kushwaha. They are accused of laundering Rs 39 crore through bank channels and various shell companies.

Skyline Metal and Alloy Pvt Ltd and Goldmine Buildcon Pvt Ltd are two out of four alleged shell companies that gave donations of Rs 50 lakh each to the AAP in April 2014. Documents obtained from the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) reveal that Beagle Marketing Pvt Ltd and these two companies appointed the same auditor – with the email ID [e-mail] – for the financial year 2013-14.

(Infographic: Harsh Sahani/The Quint)

Meet Ram Charan, Bogus Director

That’s not all.

An individual named Ram Charan, who was found to be one of the Directors of Beagle Marketing Pvt Ltd, is linked to the directors of the four alleged shell companies that gave Rs 2 crore in donations to AAP.

During the investigation, the ED found that Ram Charan is actually a daily-wage labourer staying in a slum at Anna Nagar Jhuggi Camp in Delhi. He told investigators that he wasn't aware of the company’s existence.

The companies that gave the donations are Skyline Metal and Alloy Pvt Ltd, Goldmine Buildcon Pvt Ltd, Infolance Software Solutions Ltd, and Sunvision Agencies Pvt Ltd.

MCA documents reveal that aside from Beagle Marketing Pvt Ltd, Charan was Director of Annex Motorsport Pvt Ltd too along with the Directors of four alleged shell companies, who are Hem Prakesh Sharma, Ajay Kumar Upadhayay, and Yogesh Kumar.

Interestingly, [e-mail] is also the auditor of Annex Motorsport Pvt Limited.

(Infographic: Harsh Sahani/The Quint)

Is CA Kushwaha the Key?

Neil Haslam, a former AAP member who worked in the social media section of the party, is the whistle-blower who brought some of these documents to light. According to him, all these alleged shell companies are handled by an auditor with the email address [e-mail]. Now, it is the responsibility of the investigators to find out more about the user of this email ID.

I have informed and submitted all the documents to the concerned ministry related to the link between these shell companies.

Neil Haslam, Whistle-blower and Former AAP Member

The ED has slapped the two Axis Banks managers and the CA, Kushwaha, with the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.

According to sources, the companies in question have donated money to other political parties too.

The CA is the mastermind behind laundering money. He is apparently linked to 135 companies, out of which Beagle Marketing Pvt Ltd is one. It is a huge web of shell companies, which we are trying to crack down on.

Senior Official, ED 

Interestingly, alleged shell company Goldmine Buildcon Pvt Ltd didn’t just donate to AAP, but also to Congress. As per the documents submitted to the Election Commission, Congress received Rs 10 lakh from this company in financial year 2014-15.

Now it's a matter of watching and waiting; will this investigation reach the doorstep of the AAP and other political parties? Who is the beneficiary of the Rs 39 crore? Is it a corporation or a political party?

Clearly, the link between the shell companies, the auditor, and AAP donations raises several questions that only the ED investigators can answer.