ED attaches Rs 55 crore worth of 'benami' land of DMK MP A Raja

New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate on Thursday said it has attached a "benami" asset worth Rs 55 crore of DMK MP A Raja – 45 acres of land in Coimbatore district in Tamil Nadu – under the anti-money laundering law.

The federal agency said in a statement that the land was purchased by a company allegedly linked to Raja, in lieu of granting environmental clearance to a Gurugram-based real estate company by the leader during his stint as the Union minister for environment and forests between 2004 and 2007.

The land is held in the name of a "benami" company of Raja, the ED said.

Benami means 'no name' or 'without name' and such properties are those in which the real beneficiary is not the one in whose name the property has been purchased.

"The real estate company (listed on the BSE) has given kickbacks to A Raja as quid pro quo for awarding the environmental clearance, around the same period in 2007, in the garb of land commission income in the hands of one benami company of A Raja."

"It is found that A Raja incorporated the company in the same year (2007) in the name of his family members and his close family friend, with the sole objective of using it as a vehicle to park the proceeds of crime," the ED alleged.

The said company, according to the ED, was never engaged in any business activity since inception and the entire money received in the company was "quid pro quo" from the real estate deal and was used for acquiring land in Coimbatore.

"Thus, the 45 acres of land in Coimbatore worth Rs 55 crore have been purchased directly using the proceeds of crime, (illegal payment made as quid pro quo for obtaining environmental clearances) have been provisionally (under Prevention of Money Laundering Act) attached," it said.