Imported coal supply: CBI books Adani Enterprises, others for criminal conspiracy
NEWDELHI: The Central Bureau of Investigation has filed a case of corruption and criminal conspiracy against Adani Enterprises Ltd and top officials of the National Cooperative Consumer Federation (NCCF) for allegedly manipulating a tender in 2010 to give the company a contract to supply imported coal to a staterun power firm.
The agency claimed it has been investigating officials of Adani Enterprises and NCCF since 2017 on a complaint from the ministry of consumer affairs as part of a preliminary enquiry (PE). An FIR was registered on Wednesday. An FIR is typically registered only if the enquiry unearths possible irregularities.
The FIR names Adani Enterprises Ltd, NCCF’S executives at the time — former Chairman Virender Singh, former MD G P Gupta, and senior advisor S C Singhal — and unknown public servants as accused.
Last week, the Supreme Court paved the way for the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence, which looks at irregularities in imports and exports (aimed at evading tax, or benefiting from incentives), to restart its investigation against the Adani group in a case concerning alleged overvaluation of coal imports from Indonesia.
The apex court stayed the October 17, 2019 judgment of the
Bombay high court which granted relief to Adani by quashing the letters rogatory (LRS) sent to various countries, including Singapore seeking details of the group’s coal imports from Indonesia.
“There is a news item about lodging of an FIR by the CBI against the National Cooperative Consumer Federation and Adani Enterprises Ltd related to supply of imported coal. The subject matter is an old one. Adani Enterprises Ltd has complied with the process, formalities and relevant laws ... The company has not done anything wrong in supply of coal. It’s a preliminary investigation report only. The company shall respond to the same and shall also put forth the factual position to the authority,” an Adani spokesperson said in a statement.
According to the FIR, a copy of which has been reviewed by HT, Andhra Pradesh Power Generation Corporation (APGENCO) floated a limited tender enquiry for the supply of six lakh Metric Tonnes of imported coal from sea ports to Narla Tata Rao Thermal Power Plant in Vijaywada and Rayalaseema Thermal Power Plant (RTPP) in Kadapa on June 29, 2010. This was forwarded to seven state-owned companies: PEC Limited New Delhi, STC Limited New Dehi, MSTC Limited Kolkata, NCCF Hyderabad, MMTC Hyderabad, Coal India Ltd Kolkata and SCCL Hyderabad.