ED detects 'unaccounted' cash deals worth Rs 1,000 crore in TASMAC operations in Tamil Nadu
New Delhi, Mar 13 (PTI): The Enforcement Directorate Thursday said it has found "multiple irregularities" in the operations of TASMAC that has monopoly over liquor trade in Tamil Nadu, including "manipulation" in the tender processes and "unaccounted" cash transactions worth Rs 1,000 crore through distillery companies.
The federal agency claimed in a statement that it got "evidence" suggesting these corrupt practices after it raided the employees, corporate offices of distilleries and plants of the Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation Limited (TASMAC) on March 6.
ED sources, on the day of the raids, had said the searches were also conducted against "key associates" linked to prohibition and excise department minister Senthil Balaji.
The ED said it found "incriminating" data related to transfer postings, transport and bar licence tenders, indent orders "favouring" few distillery companies, excess charge of Rs 10-30 per bottle by TASMAC outlets, with the "involvement" of TASMAC officials, during the searches.
It said this data shows "manipulation" in TASMAC's transport tender allocations where a "glaring" issue was the "mismatch" between the KYC details of the applicant and the demand draft (DD), suggesting that the final successful bidder did not even obtain the requisite DD before the application deadline.
Tenders were awarded despite having only a single applicant in the final bid. TASMAC paid over Rs 100 crore annually to transporters, as per the ED.
In the case of allocation of bar licence tenders by TASMAC, "evidence" related to "manipulation" of tender conditions was found including a "glaring" issue of applicants without any GST/PAN numbers and KYC documentation being allotted the final tenders, it said.
The agency said it found records to show "direct" communication between distillery companies and higher TASMAC officials, exposing efforts to secure increased indent orders and "undue" favours.
The searches also found "large-scale" financial fraud involving distillery companies like SNJ, Kals, Accord, SAIFL, and Shiva Distillery and bottling entities such as Devi Bottles, Crystal Bottles and GLR Holding, the ED alleged.
The distilleries "systematically inflated" expenses and "fabricated" bogus purchases, particularly through bottle-making companies, to siphon off over Rs 1,000 crore in "unaccounted" cash.
These funds were then used as "kickbacks" to secure increased supply orders from TASMAC, as per the ED.
In the case of the bottling companies, the ED found that they "inflated" sales figures, allowing distilleries to route excess payments, which were later withdrawn in cash and returned after deducting commissions.
"This collusion between distilleries and bottling companies was done through manipulation of financial records, concealed cash flows, and systematic evasion.
"The findings confirm a network where unaccounted cash was deliberately generated through inflated and bogus expenses and subsequently utilized for purposes leading to huge profits," the agency alleged.
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11 more bodies retrieved from Arunachal accident site
Itanagar (PTI): Eleven more bodies were retrieved on Saturday from the deep gorge in Arunachal Pradesh's Anjaw district, where a mini-truck on which 22 labourers from Assam were travelling fell, an official said.
With this, 17 bodies have been recovered from the accident site, Anjaw's deputy commissioner Milo Kojin said.
He said three more bodies will be brought out on Sunday.
The operation, being conducted by a joint team of the NDRF and Army, resumed at 6 am.
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"The retrieval process was extremely difficult because of the treacherous terrain, and the gorge is very deep," Kojin said.
The operation was suspended around 4 pm due to low visibility and will be resumed on Sunday morning, he said.
"One person is still missing, and a search operation will be carried out tomorrow," he added.
The accident happened on the evening of December 8, around 40 km from Hayuliang towards Chaglagam in the district. On the evening of December 10, one survivor managed to climb out of the gorge and reach a nearby Border Roads Task Force (BRTF) labour camp, following which the authorities were alerted.
Six bodies were recovered from the gorge on Friday and handed over to their families on Saturday.
