NEW DELHI, DEC 6: The interrogation by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and subsequent confessional statement given by Abhishek Verma, son of a Congress MP Veena Verma, before a magistrate last week has the potential of turning out to be another Jain hawala type of case.Among those named by Abhishek Verma include Vincent George, private secretary to Congress president Sonia Gandhi, a former Rajasthan minister Rohtas Kumar and others. Verma has also given a graphic account of how he made his crores through imports and exports and how he channelised the hawala transactions.Verma is reported to have told the CBI that George bought prime property in Anand Niketan way back in 1992-93 after getting huge amount of donation in foreign exchange.These donations were received by George's wife after cash was sent to the donor in New York through the hawala channel. He also disclosed the name of the donor to the CBI.The scheme to receive donations in foreign exchange had been permitted by the Narasimha Rao Government in 1991-92 to overcome the country's dwindlng foreign exchange reserves and there is nothing illegal about receiving foregn donations. George's wife had got the money from New York, alleged Verma. But sending money abroad through the hawala to receive donation is an offence under FERA.When contacted, George declined to say anything on the subject except that he had a property in Anand Niketan which had been duly assessed to income-tax.Verma had also named a former Rajasthan Congress Minister, Rohtas Kumar, who used the hawala route to get huge sums of money from abroad and take advantage of the amnesty scheme announced by the P V Rao Government. Rohtas purchased properties in Panchsheel Park and elsewhere with the mony.Verma was wanted by the CBI in a case of forging a bank document to fix his estranged wife in a FERA case. In this case, he took the help of Ashok Agrawal who was working as Deputy Director in the Enforcement Directorate. Subhash Barjatya, a Delhi-based businessman who has jewellery show-room in the Maurya Sheraton, had compalined against Agrawal for harassing him and Abhishek Verma's wife in a hawala case.Since Verma is an NRI, the CBI waited for him to return to India. The moment he landed, the CBI nabbed him for interrogation during which he spilled the beans. The interrogation is reported to have continued for over three weeks and he gave a detailed account of deals done by him in collusion with Ashok Agrawal.Since the CBI was also inquiring into a case against Agrawal for possessing assets disproportionate to his known sources of income, Verma is reported to have given some details.Strangely, Agrawal is missing for the past several days. The CBI is knockng at the doors of Agrawal's offical residence at 56 Ashok Road, Pashchim Vihar and Bahadurgarh (Haryana). Even Subhash Barjatya has gone underground and is untraceable.
