CBI books former chief of PEC for cheating

NEWDELHI: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has booked a former chairman-cum-managing director (CMD) of public sector firm PEC Limited and six serving or retired officials of the company in a case of cheating to the tune of ₹531 crore.

PEC facilitates export and import of various commodities and is also engaged in guaranteeing payments to exporters and providing financial facilities to importers.

According to the CBI’S first information report (FIR), which named formerchairman-cummanaging director (CMD) AK Mirchandani and six more serving or retired PEC officials, between November 2010 and March 2012, PEC entered into an agreement with a private company Pisces Exim, which was to export iron ore to a foreign buyer.

A copy of the first information report (FIR) was seen by Hindustan Times.

The transaction was to be facilitated and financed by PEC by way of an interest-bearing advance, the company said in a complaint to the CBI.

Under the agreement, PEC released ₹348 crore to Pisces.

But, according to the first information report (FIR), Pisces failed to supply iron ore as well refund the advance extended to it. Now the outstanding amount, including interest, stands at ₹531 crore.

Along with serving and retired PEC officials, CBI has also booked Pisces, its owner Soumit Ranjan Jena, and two directors of Pisces’s successor company Pisces Exim (India) Private Limited — Pravin Kumar Somalal Rathod and Shantanu Sharma.

Another company, Jet Link Infotech, its managing director GS Rao and two individuals, M Shiv Bhusan and his son M Srinivas, have also been named in the case.

HT couldn’t reach out to Mirchandani. Emails sent to M Nagaraj, current chairman and managing director of PEC Limited,and to Pisces Exim remained unanswered as of press time.

DISTRICT MAGISTRATE, WHO TOO HAS ORDERED A PROBE, SAID IT WAS FOUND THAT THE GIRL’S PHOTO WAS USED BY UNICEF FOR PROMOTING EDUCATION IN PAKISTAN