Tuesday, 11 September 2012

COAL scam

I-T, ED on trail in coal allocations scam



In more trouble for allotees of coal blocks, the Income Tax department and Enforcement Directorate are scanning investments and finances of the firms that are alleged to have illegally benefited in the scam.

Both the agencies under the Finance Ministry have begun a discreet inquiry into the firms, especially those who have been recently booked by the CBI in its latest FIR.

Sources monitoring the probes said that while the agencies are yet to be officially handed over the CBI complaint, they have begun a preliminary exercise to obtain data about the "financial activities" of these firms.





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Sources said the I-T could also carry out searches of the official premises of some of the firms against whom they detect contravention of tax laws.



The CBI, earlier this month, had registered cases against five companies for alleged criminal conspiracy to get coal blocks by fudging their net worth figures and misrepresentation of facts.

While the CBI has has named five companies--JLD Yavatmal Energy Limited, JAS Infrastructure Capital Private Limited, AMR Iron and Steel, Navbharat Power Private Limited and Vini Iron and Steel Udyog Limited--with their 20 directors and unknown government officials, it may register more cases against few other firms who were allocated blocks.

Both I-T and the ED, according to sources, have information about the finances of few companies who were allocated coal blocks as the agencies had probed separate cases in this regard last year.

While the I-T carried out a high-profile raid on a coal businessman last year in Jharkhand leading to recovery of cash to the tune of more than Rs 70 crore, the ED had probed select coal mining firms during its probe against former Jharkhand chief minister Madhu Koda.

While the I-T would look to find the evasion of taxes and hiding of profits by suspect firms in the coal business, the ED is looking for ant criminal routing of funds that escaped the eye of the tax and enforcement agencies.

Demanding a probe into fresh reports in the allocation of 142 coal blocks by United Progressive Alliance [ Images ] government, the Bharatiya Janata Party [ Images ] on Tuesday said it is "truly amazing" that relatives and associates of union ministers have made such gains soon after the latter occupied the high offices.
"It is truly amazing that the entrepreneurial skills of the kith and kin of UPA ministers shine only when the brothers are ministers," said BJP spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad.
He targeted Coal Minister Sri Prakash Jaiswal and one of his predecessors in the ministry, Santosh Bagrodia, on the issue. Reports said Bagrodia's brother got a coal block allocation worth Rs 23,000 crore while Jaiswal had allegedly helped a company in getting a similarly lucrative contract.
"BJP demands that the huge contract worth Rs 23,000 crore to the then Union minister Santosh Bagrodia disregarding the claim of a PSU -- Singareni Coal Fields -- needs to be properly investigated," Prasad said.
He expressed surprise that the claims of Singareni Coal Fields -- which had also bid -- were ignored.
BJP also attacked Jaiswal, citing documents to allege that he had helped the Darda group in coal block allocations.
"Sriprakash Jaiswal had recently said all Jaiswals are his relatives. I won't say anything on this but some Jaiswals are definitely close to him. Was he an arbitrator in the dispute of one Manoj Jaiswal in 2008? In what capacity was he an arbitrator? Manoj is involved with Abhijeet group, with which the Darda brothers are also connected," Prasad said.
Charging that the kin of several influential Congress leaders as well as those of its allies were involved, BJP named Subodh Kant Sahay [ Images ], Vijay Darda and his brother Rajendra, Manoj Jaiswal, Prem Kumar Gupta, S Jagatrakshakan and Madhu Koda [ Images ] as beneficiaries of the coal scam.

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