GVK, son in CBI net for `705 cr airport scandal

Investigation agency searches offices in Mumbai, Hyderabad

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Thursday registered a case against Dr G. Venkata Krishna (GVK) Reddy, the chairman of the GVK Group of companies, and his son G.V. Sanjay Reddy, the managing director of Mumbai International Airport Ltd (MIAL), and few others, for alleged irregularities worth `705 crore in the running of the airport.

The agency also carried out searches at the offices of the GVK group in Mumbai and Hyderabad. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is also likely to charge promoters of the GVK Group for alleged money laundering.

According to the First Information Report filed by the CBI, the promoters of the GVK Group allegedly under-reported the revenue earnings of MIAL by entering into contracts with related parties and meeting their personal and family expenses using the funds of Mumbai airport. The central investigative agency said that the promoters of the GVK group have allegedly misused reserve funds of MIAL to the tune of `395 crore to finance their group companies. It has further claimed that they siphoned off funds showing execution of bogus work contracts to nine companies in 2017-18 causing loss of `310 crore.

The CBI also accused some Airports Authority of India officials of being a hand-in-glove with the GVK Group and of helping them to divert the money of Mumbai airport.

The probe agency has further claimed that the group inflated expenditure figures of MIAL by `100 crore showing payments to employees at their headquarters and group companies who were not involved in the running of MIAL. From April 2006, the GVK Group’s GVK Airport Holdings Limited has been operating the Mumbai airport through a joint venture company, Mumbai International Airport Ltd (MIAL). The government-owned Airports Authority of India (AAI) Ltd is also a partner in MIAL.