Benami London home not owned by Robert Vadra, UK land registry records show

Congress president Sonia Gandhi’s son-in law Robert Vadra has come under spotlight for another wrong reason, this time, for his alleged link with controversial arms dealer Sanjay Bhandari.

It is alleged that during the Income Tax’s raid on the Bhandari’s premises, officials found that Vadra owns a benami property in London. But the UK land registry records show that no transaction took place in 2009 to link Vadra to a house in London, funded by Bhandari.

The property in question, Flat No 12 in Ellerton House, Bryanston Square, London, is owned by Harold and Shirley Sacks, and not by any company allegedly fronting for Vadra.

According to official documents, the current owners bought the flat for 9,50,000 pounds on September 23, 2005. Since then, the property has not changed hands, documents accessed by London-based Asian Lite reveal.

According to reports, the government was probing allegations that Vadra purchased the property through Bhandari for Rs 19 crore in 2009 and sold it a year later.

The probe was based on two reports by investigating agencies prompted by e-mails allegedly sent by Vadra and his executive assistant Manoj Arora to Bhandari. Vadra’s lawyer had denied the allegation, saying his client had nothing to do directly or indirectly with 12, Ellerton House.

According to Zoopla.com, the leading website that tracks the real estate market and transactions, the flat’s current market worth is estimated at 2,524,000 pounds (Rs 25 crore approx).