ED files chargesheet against Robert Vadra in Gurugram land deal case, attaches 43 assets worth Rs 37.64 crore

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) filed a prosecution complaint (charge sheet) against Congress leader Sonia Gandhi’s son-in-law, businessman Robert Vadra, before the Rouse Avenue Court in New Delhi on Thursday in connection with its money laundering probe in the purchase of 3.53-acre land in Gurugram district’s Shikohpur village (now Sector 83) on February 12, 2008. Vadra has been charged under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act along with 10 other individuals and entities, including Vadra’s Skylight Hospitality Pvt Ltd, Satyanand Yaji, Kawal Singh Virk, and Omkareshwar Properties Pvt Ltd.
The ED has also provisionally attached 43 immovable properties valued at over Rs 37.64 crore in connection with the case. It issued the provisional attachment order on July 16, 2025, targeting assets linked to Vadra and his firm, Skylight Hospitality Pvt Ltd.

This is ED’s first charge sheet against Vadra, who was questioned in this case for three days in April. Vadra is the husband of Congress Member of Parliament (MP) Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.

Vadra’s two firms allegedly had only ₹1 lakh each in their bank accounts when they purchased the land worth ₹7.5 crore in Shikohpur.

As per reports, Vadra’s firm applied for developing the land for commercial activity, and the then Haryana government of Congress chief minister Bhupinder Hooda approved the licence within four days.

Land purchased for Rs 7.5 crore, no cheque issued

Vadra’s Sky Light Hospitality Private Ltd (SLHPL) purchased the land without making any payment and did not issue any cheque for the purchase, instead another company of Vadra, Sky Light Realty Pvt Ltd (SLRPL), issued the check, which was never presented to the bank for encashment, said a Hindustan Times report citing unnamed officials.

Both SLHPL and SLRPL had a balance of only ₹1 lakh each in their bank accounts when the sale deed was executed, and even together they did not have to pay the seller for the 3.53-acre land worth ₹7.50 crore.

It also said that Omkareshwar Properties Pvt Ltd (OPPL) provided the funds for stamp duty (₹45 lakh) and other charges.

SLHPL paid ₹15.38 crore in two tranches to OPPL, more than the amount mentioned in the sale deed (₹7.50 crore), after about six months, which reveals undervaluation of property to evade stamp duty and cause revenue loss to the government.

Commercial licence granted in just 4 days

The ED found that OPPL applied for a commercial licence for the same land, but the Haryana government’s town and country planning department did not issue it. But on March 17, 2008, SLHPL informed the department about the land purchase and applied for a licence to develop a commercial colony and within four days, on March 21, 2008, Haryana government gave the approval, and a letter of intent was issued by the department on March 28 for developing a commercial colony on 2.701 acres out of the 3.53 acres.

Same land sold to DLF for Rs 58 crore in 2021

Four years later, in September 2012, the company sold the land to DLF, a realty major, for ₹58 crore.

The case came to light when Haryana cadre IAS officer Ashok Khemka cancelled its mutation, a process reflecting the transfer of property, in October 2012.

Vadra is also facing ED probes in a money laundering case against arms middleman Sanjay Bhandari and a land deal in Rajasthan’s Bikaner.

The court is yet to take cognisance of the charges, meaning it has not yet decided whether to proceed with the trial against the accused.