I-T attaches Gurgaon hotel, says it is benami asset of ex-CM's sons

NEW DELHI: The income tax department has attached the Bristol Hotel in Gurgaon, estimated to be worth Rs 150 crore, claiming it to be the benami property of Congress leader Kuldeep Bishnoi and his brother Chander Mohan, sons of former Haryana chief minister Bhajan Lal.

In its attachment order, the I-T department has claimed that Bristol Hotel is owned by Bright Star Hotel Pvt Ltd in which 34% of shares are held by a front company registered in the

British Virgin Islands

and operated from the UAE.

"Investigations revealed that the said entity and its assets are the benami assets of Kuldeep Bishnoi and Chander Mohan..."says the provisional attachment order issued by the I-T department.

The attachment has been made under the Prohibition of Benami Property Transactions Act.

Last month, the I-T investigation unit had carried out searches at multiple locations in Delhi, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh on the premises of Bishnoi. The investigating team had seized several documents during the raids, including papers related to Bristol Hotel. Further investigations revealed the existence of several shell companies registered in tax havens and transactions through firms in the British Virgin Islands,

Panama

, UAE and New Jersey.

"The attachment is one of the outcomes of the ongoing investigation in the case," I-T officials said. The department further claimed that benami shareholders of the Virgin Islands entity are close confidants of the Bishnoi family.

"Control over affairs of the entity rests with the Bishnois. The consideration paid for acquisition of shares in Bright Star Hotel Pvt Ltd was arranged by the Bishnois and they were managing the actual affairs of the entity through their associates based in India and abroad," the order said.