Raninder fails to appear before ED again, says busy with Rio Olympics

Raninder Singh, the son of Punjab Congress chief Captain Amarinder Singh, failed to appear before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday. Raninder, who also heads the National Rifles Association of India, said he was busy with preparations for the Rio Olympics.
This is the second time in less than a month that Raninder has sought adjournment after the ED summoned him in a case of Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) violation.
On June 16, he sought exemption on medical grounds.
ED summons on income tax department complaint
ED assistant director Ajai Singh issued the summons asking Raninder to explain the alleged movement of his funds to Switzerland and the creation of a trust and a few subsidiaries in the British Virgin Islands.
The ED initiated action on the complaint of the income tax department, which says Raninder lied under oath to it about trusts allegedly owned by him in the British Virgin Islands.
The income tax department had found that Raninder was the settler (donor) of Jacaranda Trust in the UK and the owner of business entities Mulwala Holdings Limited, Limerlock International Limited, Chillingham Holdings Limited and Allworth Venture Holdings Limited.
The authorities in the British Virgin Islands told the income tax department that the business entities were holding substantial financial assets, including bank accounts in HSBC, Geneva, and properties in the United Kingdom and Dubai in the United Arab Emirates.
The authorities provided the IT department with a copy of the trust deed that showed the settlement was made on July 22, 2005, in the British Virgin Islands between Raninder and HSBC Trust Company Limited. Raninder acted as a trustee.
Nothing to hide, says Raninder
Raninder says he has nothing to hide. “This is being looked into by the income tax authorities. I will cooperate with the enforcement directorate,” he said.
In March, Ludhiana’s chief judicial magistrate Ranjeev Kumar issued notice to Raninder for lying to the income tax department about his foreign bank accounts. Acting on a criminal complaint by income tax deputy director (investigation) Amit Dua , the Ludhiana court asked him to file a reply on July 26, the next date of hearing.