ITA Kamal Nath's nephew Ratul Puri received Rs. Anonymous shares worth Rs 254 crore seized

(PTI) New Delhi, Ta. July 30, 2019, Tuesday

The Income Tax Department has taken anonymous equity shares worth Rs 254 crore from Ratnapuram, the niece of Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath. According to officials, Puri received the shares from a suspected VVIP helicopter scam through a shell company.

Hindustan PowerProjects Private (HPP) Limited is already in the scanner of the Income Tax Department and Enforcement Directorate on charges of tax evasion and money laundering.

According to the officials, the Office of the Income Tax Department in Delhi issued a provisional order to take the non-cumulative Compulsory Convertible Preference Share (CCPS) under the section 24 (3) of the Prohibition of Anonymous Property Transaction Act.

This fund came in the form of FDI in Optima Infrastructure Pvt. Ltd., affiliated with business firm Moser Bayer, father of Ratul Puri. According to sources, Ratul Puri made more bills for importing solar panels in the name of a company called HEPCL and earned Rs 254 crore through it.

The company is a Dubai-based operator's shell company. The operator is accused in the Augusta Westland VVIP helicopter scandal. It is worth mentioning that yesterday, a Delhi court extended a one-day extension to Agatotara bail granted to Ratul Puri in a money laundering case linked to the VVIP helicopter scam.

Hindustan PowerProjects Private Limited Chairman Puri contacted the court on July 27 and demanded bail in advance. In this regard, the court granted anticipatory bail until Puri on Saturday. During the hearing, he told Special Judge Arvind Kumar that there was no need for arrest as he was cooperating in the investigation.