The Enforcement Directorate said on Monday that it had arrested Dubai based businessman CC Thampi, who is known to be a close associate of Robert Vadra,  in connection with a money laundering case.

Thampi is also accused of being involved in several defence deals and it is learnt that he owns several illegal properties in India and UAE. It may be recalled that Thampi’s name had also cropped up in a case related to London-based property of Robert Vadra. He is being probed for alleged forex violations of over several thousand crores and other charges.

Thampi, a Dubai-based NRI is controller of Skylight Investments, FZE, Dubai and owner of Holiday Group. Its website says the Holiday group is involved in infrastructure, internbational trading, manufacturing, tourism, hospitality and media sectors.

Thampi’s name cropped up before the ED last year when during questioning, said that he had met him onboard an Emirates flight. However, more than  two years before that Thampi had told officials  that he met with Vadra through Madhavan, who was the personal assistant of Congress leader Sonia Gandhi. The contradiction in the statements is being used as evidence by the ED which believes that Thampi helped Vadra in routing money through a channel of shell companies.

Sources in the ED claimed that the agency came across several properties, including a property worth 1.9 million pounds, another property worth 4 million pounds, one more property worth 5 million pounds and six other flats. These properties are in London and the agency suspects it may be associated with Vadra. Total worth of properties is over 12 million pounds.

—India Legal Bureau