India: Who is CC Thampi, NRI businessman back in spotlight in the case involving Vadras?
File photo.
Cheruvathur Chekkutty Thamp, a businessman who is a Non-Resident Indian (NRI), is back in the news. This time the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has named Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra in a money laundering case linked to Thampi, 66. According to a report by the news agency ANI on Thursday (Dec 28), the ED's chargesheet named Priyanka, mentioning her role in purchasing agricultural land in Amipur village in Haryana's Faridabad from a Delhi-based real estate agent HL Pahwa in 2006 and selling the same land to Pahwa four years later inFebruary 2010.
Priyanka's husband Robert Vadra also purchased three separate pieces of land from Pahwa from 2005-2006 and sold the same land to him in December 2010. ANI reported Pahwa is the same person who sold land to Thampi.
The ED had named Robert Vadra in its earlier chargesheet related to the money laundering case as an alleged close aide of Thampi. In its fresh chargesheet, the central agency said that Pahwa was receiving cash out of the books for the acquisition of land.
Who is CC Thampi?
Cheruvathur Chekkutty Thampi, also known as CC Thampi is a businessman based in Dubai. According to a report by The Indian Express, Thampi hails from Kerala's Thrissur and has been a prominent player in the United Arab Emirates' (UAE) real estate sector since the 1980s.
Thampi arrived in UAE's Ajman city in the late 1970s. He initially worked in hotels and also did odd jobs. Subsequently, he founded Holiday Constructions which went on to carry out major projects in the UAE.
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The report added that the businessman diversified in other sectors including hotels, retail and car rentals. In 2008, he founded an engineering college back home in Thrissur.
The publication also reported with one of his real-estate ventures, he acquired extensive farmlands across India.
Political connections
Over the years, Thampi established a network with politicians in India, especially those with the Congress party and the Gandhi family. The 66-year-old first made headlines in 2009 when the CBI opened a case against him for allegedly securing an All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) approval for his engineering college in Thrissur without meeting the guidelines, The Indian Express reportsaid.
As time passed, the businessman came under more scrutiny from Indian agencies who started monitoring his investments.
The 2020 arrest
Thampi was arrested in the money laundering case in Jan 2020 but was later released on bail. In a recent statement, the ED said he was a "close associate" of Robert Vadra, the news agency PTI reported.
In 2019, Thampi told the ED he had known Robert Vadra for more than 10 years and the businessman was "initially introduced" to him by Madhavan, the Personal Assistant (PA) to veteran Congress leader Sonia Gandhi.
(With inputs from agencies)