Finally, Raninder appears before ED in Jalandhar

Former Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh’s son Raninder on Thursday appeared before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) here in connection with its probe against alleged forex contraventions and holding of untaxed foreign assets. 

Official sources said Raninder reached the agency’s zonal office around 3 pm and met the Investigating Officer (IO). The agency is expected to record his statement, they said. He had skipped the ED’s summons twice, stating that he was busy with the preparations of the Rio Olympics and health reasons. 

Raninder has been summoned by the agency to explain the alleged movement of funds to Switzerland and creation of a trust and a few subsidiaries in the tax haven of British Virgin Islands.

The alleged violations had earlier been investigated by the Income Tax department and a case in this regard was being heard in a court in Punjab.

The next hearing in the case is slated for July 26.  Raninder had earlier said he did not have anything to hide and was willing to cooperate with the probe. The case came to light when the Income Tax department received information about Raninder allegedly holding the offshore account in the alpine nation as part of details received by the Central Board of Direct Taxes from its French counterparts in 2011.

The sources said ED investigators have gathered necessary documents from a court in Punjab and RBI, and they suspect “contravention of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA)” by the accused. Both Raninder and his father Amarinder, Congress MP and its Punjab unit chief, have denied any wrongdoing.