NEW DELHI, FEBRUARY 19: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has started probing the financialdealings of Vincent George, the all-powerful secretary of Congress presidentSonia Gandhi.A team under Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Arun Kumar Gupta is preparing aSpecial Investigation Report about the wealth and property acquired byGeorge. DIG Gupta had earlier investigated the Jharkhand Mukti Morchabribery case. In George's case, the period when he was Personal Secretary toPrime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and held the status of a public servant will beunder special scrutiny.The CBI has already questioned George's chartered accountant Anil Thakur,son of Janardhan Thakur, senior Congressman Sarabjeet Singh, former chairmanof Central Warehousing Corporation (CWC), and two more of his closeassociates, sources said.George came under suspicion following separate disclosures made by theformer Deputy Director in the Enforcement Directorate, Ashok Aggarwal, andthe son of Congress Rajya Sabha MP Veena Verma, Abhishek Verma. George,Sonia Gandhi's trusted secretary, had been alleged to have laundered``crores of rupees'' with the connivance of both Aggarwal and Verma.Sources in the CBI said that under investigation, among other things, werethe various investments made by George and the properties acquired by him,which include houses in South Extension, M.G. Road (Bangalore) and AnandNiketan (C-52). Many of the properties were in the name of his wife.George is also reported to have brought in Rs 3 crore in 1991-92 under theGovernment of India's tax amnesty scheme. The money was remitted to India,largely in his wife's name, through various drafts made from banks in theUSA, prominent among them being the State Bank of India (SBI) branch inFlushing, New York. Sonia's secretary is alleged to have used this money tobuy the posh Anand Niketan property in South Delhi.George's name had first come up in the statement given by Abhishek Verma tothe CBI and also to the ED. His name came up again during the interrogationof Aggarwal by the CBI, sources said. ``We had no choice but to startinvestigations because some concrete things against George have come tolight,'' a CBI official said.The official added that ultimately many of the things might also have to beinvestigated by the ED, given the nature of charges against him.
