Rs 360 crore seized by ED in TN coal tender case
CHENNAI: The Enforcement Directorate on Thursday said Rs 360 crore worth of bank deposits linked to South India Corporation (SIC) were seized during searches carried out at 10 locations in Chennai on Monday in a Rs 900-crore corruption case related to coal handling tenders issued by Tangedco. Incriminating documents, digital evidence, and property documents were also seized, the ED said.
The Directorate of Vigilance and Anti Corruption (DVAC) had filed FIR against 10 people, including five former senior Tangedco officials, based on a complaint from Arappor Iyakkam, an anti-graft NGO.
In 2018, Jayaram Venkatesan of Arappor Iyakkam had sent a petition alleging corruption and the DVAC had filed a case and conducted a probe.
As per the FIR filed by the DVAC, Tangedco floated a tender to handle coal at Visakhapatnam Port in September 2000 and the bid was awarded to South India Corporation Private Limited in February 2001 for carrying out the work for five months.
‘Tangedco paid Rs 1,126 crore without any proof’
According to the FIR, Visakhapatnam Port Trust levies a charge based on number of permanent labourers of Vizag Dock Labour Board used by the contractor and no levy will be charged if temporary labourers are used. Tangedco will reimburse to the bidder the levy amount paid to the port ased on documents submitted by the contractor which must have details about the quantity of coal handled and the number of labourers used. After the contract ended, Tangedco floated another tender in September 2001 and a company called Western Agencies Madras Private Limited filed a suit in court and got a stay against opening the bid.
A detailed inquiry revealed that SIC Limited conspired with Western Agencies Madras Private Ltd to obtain the stay and used it to continue its coal handling till 2019. Officials continued to issue purchase orders to SIC Limited up to 2019. The probe revealed that while SIC paid Rs 217 crore as levy to the port trust between 2011- 2019, Tangedco paid Rs 1,126 crore as reimbursement of tax to SIC without any proof.
The difference of Rs 908 crore was a huge loss for Tangedco, the FIR said. DVAC booked Tangedco chief engineer N Palaniappan, director of coal V Chellappan, and SIC ex-director S P Palaniappan, Western Agencies MD K C Rajan and others.