ED files money laundering case against Rolls Royce, others
New Delhi: The ED has filed a criminal case to probe money laundering charges in an alleged corruption case involving London-based Rolls Royce that is said to have made a payment of over Rs 77 crore as commission to an agent to win contracts from PSUs HAL, ONCG and GAIL during 2007-11, officials said on Sunday.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has booked the case under provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) after going through a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) FIR, which was registered in the case in July this year, they said.
Rolls Royce and its Indian subsidiary, Singapore-based Ashok Patni and his company Aashmore Pvt Ltd, and Mumbai-based Turbotech Energy Services International Pvt Ltd, besides unidentified officials of public sector units (PSUs) Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) and GAIL were booked by the CBI for criminal conspiracy and bribery.
The CBI complaint alleged that the total business of HAL with Rolls Royce was around Rs 4,700 crore between 2000 to 2013.
It is alleged that Rolls Royce paid Rs 18 crore to Patni as "commercial advisor" in the 100 supply orders of Avon and Allison engines' spare parts to HAL between 2007-11, the bureau's FIR stated.
The CBI action came after a five-year-long inquiry conducted by it. The inquiry was initiated on the basis of a complaint from the defence ministry that had received a letter about the engagement of Patni and his company by Rolls Royce.
The ED will probe if these alleged corrupt practices led to the generation of slush funds which were laundered to create personal assets, the officials said.
It will also investigate if the integrity pact was violated and kick backs were generated, they said.
Rollys Royce, after registration of the CBI case, had said it will not tolerate business misconduct of any sort and it is committed to maintain high ethical standards.
"No one currently working for Rolls-Royce in India played any part in these energy deals.
"India is an important market for Rolls-Royce and the company has a valued workforce of skilled people in the country," a company spokesperson had said.
The CBI has charged that Patni was also engaged in direct contracts of Rolls Royce with ONGC and GAIL for the supply of spare parts.
Although contracts with ONGC and GAIL allowed services of an agent but it was mandatory to declare the name at the time of bidding, a condition violated by Rolls Royce, it said.
The company declared the name of its agent to the oil and gas sector behemoths in 2013, CBI alleged.
It is alleged that Roll Royce paid Rs 29.81 crore in 73 purchase orders from 2007 to 2011 for procurement of material and spare parts pertaining to the engines for ONGC, but the company declared it in 2013, it said.
Roll Royce also paid one million British pounds with regard to 68 purchase orders from GAIL for spare parts from 2007 to 2010, it said.
The company entered in an arrangement with Turbotech Energy Services International Pvt Ltd and another company, Infinity, also owned by Patni, to which extra commission was paid, but not declared to GAIL, the CBI said.
The total commission paid by Rolls Royce comes to the tune of Rs 28.09 crore during the period 2007-10 for supplies to GAIL, it alleged.
There was an alleged conspiracy by Rolls Royce Plc and its subsidiary Rolls Royce India Pvt Ltd to misrepresent the facts before HAL regarding the engagement of the agent in order to win contracts with the public sector unit with "deception", it said.
The Indian Marine Gas Turbine unit of the HAL provides support in areas of inspection, spare parts, maintenance, equipment overhaul and assembly for industrial and marine gas turbines under licence from reputed manufactures.
The unit provides overhaul and repair of Avon and Allison engines for ONGC and GAIL for which spare parts are supplied by the energy division of Rolls Royce, it said.
The contract between Rolls Royce Power Engineering Plc and HAL was signed in June 2007, which was valid till December 2011, to provide maintenance, repair and overhaul services for units owned by the GAIL and ONGC under above licence from Rolls Royce.
"The purchase order condition specifically mentioned that Rolls Royce is not supposed to appoint any agent in India to promote this contract and no commission is payable to such agent," the CBI FIR has alleged.
It is alleged that Rolls Royce violated the condition of purchase order and integrity pact by engaging Patni and his company as commercial advisor from 2007 to 2011, and paid a commission ranging from 10 per cent to 11.3 per cent for supply of spare parts for the Avon and Allison engines.
The commission amount comes to the tune of Rs 18.32 crore during the period from 2007 to 2011 for the 100 purchase order, the CBI FIR alleged.
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Four cops suspended after man escapes from custody, gets hit by truck in Ghaziabad
Ghaziabad (UP) (PTI): The Ghaziabad Police has suspended four personnel over presumed negligence and dereliction of duty after a detainee suffered severe injuries while allegedly fleeing from custody, a police official said on Friday.
Assistant Commissioner of Police (Modinagar) Bhaskar Verma said one Amit Kumar (35), an outsourced employee at Patla Nagar Panchayat, was allegedly drinking alcohol with three of his friends at a public place on Tuesday night. When Niwari police station arrived and reprimanded them, an altercation ensued, and Amit was subsequently detained.
While police were taking him for medical examination at Community Health Centre Muradnagar, Amit reportedly jumped from the moving police vehicle near the health centre to escape. As he ran towards the Delhi-Meerut highway, he was hit by an oncoming truck and sustained severe injuries. He was rushed to Yashoda Hospital in Nehru Nagar, where he is currently undergoing treatment in the ICU.
The police personnel allegedly failed to report the truck accident to their senior officers initially, claiming instead that Amit had fallen and injured himself while attempting to flee.
The incident sparked outrage among locals and the family of the detainee, who alleged that Amit was brutally thrashed while in custody.
On Thursday, protesters gathered outside the Niwari police station for nearly an hour, raising slogans against the police. The situation was eventually brought under control after officials assured that stringent action would be taken.
In response, a delegation of Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) leaders met Police Commissioner J Ravindra Goud to submit a formal complaint demanding accountability for the Niwari police station personnel.
On Thursday evening, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Rural) Surendra Nath Tiwari issued the suspension order against Patla police outpost in-charge Sub-Inspector Lokendra, Sub-Inspector Shaid Khan, Head Constable Sachin Mohan and Constable Narendra.
Additionally, the role of Niwari Station House Officer KK Maurya is under investigation, and a departmental inquiry has been initiated against the errant personnel, Verma said.
