The Vadra connections have thrust NRI businessman Thampi back into the forefront
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has reaffirmed in a new chargesheet that NRI businessman C C Thampi has a significant and complex tie, both personally and professionally, with Sonia Gandhi’s son-in-law Robert Vadra.
Cheruvathur Chekkutty Thampi, a native of Kottol in Pazhanji, Thrissur, saw his humble beginnings take him to the United Arab Emirates in the 1970s, where he experienced a turnaround in his fortunes in his mid-20s.
Since the 1980s, the 66-year-old has been a significant figure in the UAE real estate market. He first worked in hotels and took on odd jobs after moving to Ajman in the late 1970s. Then, amid the emirates’ boom, he started Holiday Constructions, specializing in small-scale projects.
Subsequently, Holiday Constructions completed significant projects in Ajman and Sharjah, while Thampi ventured into various other industries such as hotels, retail stores, and car rental services. He established the Thrissur-based Thejus Engineering College and the Cheruvathur Foundation in 2008.
According to an income tax officer who had looked into him, he built a sizable network of contacts among politicians in Kerala, Karnataka, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, and Punjab with Holiday City Centre, another of his real estate endeavors. He also acquired extensive farmlands throughout India, including in Kerala.
When the CBI filed a case against Thampi in 2009 for allegedly getting AICTE certification for his engineering institution without following the proper procedures, the news spread throughout the country.
The ED and IT department started keeping an eye on his investments in 2012, even though the CBI dismissed the matter after a probe. Following the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) notification delivered by the ED in November of that year, Thampi filed a writ suit with the Kerala High Court.
In 2016, the petition was denied. After receiving a new summons in 2017 demanding payments of Rs 288 crore, Thampi was temporarily detained by the ED in Chennai in December 2016, however, his release was the consequence of legal hurdles.
The CBI filed a chargesheet against him and restarted the AICTE permission case in August 2018. Thampi has been questioned several times on his purported ties to Vadra.
AICTE APPROVAL CASE
When the CBI filed a case against Thampi in 2009 for allegedly getting AICTE certification for his engineering institution without following the proper procedures, the news spread throughout the country.
The ED and IT department started keeping an eye on his investments in 2012, even though the CBI dismissed the matter after a probe.
