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Rolls-Royce corruption case: ONGC, GAIL executives may have received kickbacks, says CBI FIR
Unknown officials of government-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) and GAIL India may have received kickbacks for award of tenders between 2007-2011 in a suspected corruption case involving automobile giant Rolls-Royce, according to a first information report (FIR) filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
“There is every likelihood that the part of the above payment made by Rolls-Royce to Aashmore Pvt Ltd (APL) in case of ONGC and APL/Infinity in case of GAIL may have been paid as kickback to unknown officials of ONGC and GAIL involved in the procurement process,” the FIR read.
CBI has alleged that Rolls-Royce, in order to win procurement tenders for supply of spare parts by GAIL, ONGC, and Hindustan Aeronautics misrepresented facts and wilfully failed to disclose engaging the services of Singapore-based APL through its director Ashok Patni. The investigating agency also said that officers of ONGC and GAIL were negligent towards protecting the interest of the company.
“ONGC and GAIL had provision within the aforesaid contracts which required declaration of agent at the time of bid/tender and also the details of percentage of commission paid to those agents by the buyers. Engagement of Ashok Patni, director of Aashmore as commercial advisor was in contravention to the terms of agreements and pre-contract integrity pact, which barred payment of such commission,” according to the FIR.
CBI as part of its investigation also found that APL along with another company related to Ashok Patni, namely Turbotech Energy Services, also made payments of Rs 10 lakh as donation to a cooperative society of ONGC called the ONGC Officers Mahila Samiti, which according to the investigation agency was unethically accepted by the aforesaid society.
CBI’s investigation found that ONGC and GAIL being buyers continued to place supply orders from Rolls-Royce through Ashok Patni. Rolls-Royce paid Rs 29.81 crore as commission to Aashmore for 73 purchase orders related to ONGC between 2007-11 and Rs 8.36 crore for 68 purchase orders related to GAIL between 2007-10.
Enquiry by CBI also found that Infinity, owned by Ashok Patni at Singapore, was also engaged by Rolls-Royce and paid 2 per cent extra commission without disclosing full level of commission to GAIL for Vijaipur-Dadari-Bawana pipeline project in 2008-09 and the total payment of commission paid by Rolls-Royce during the 2007-10 period was approximately Rs 28.09 crore.
CBI has filed an FIR against Rolls-Royce, Rolls-Royce India, APL, Ashok Patni, Turbotech Energy Services and unknown officials from ONGC, GAIL and HAL.
The action comes after a five-year long inquiry by the agency initiated on the basis of a complaint from the defence ministry, which had received a letter about the engagement of Singapore-based Ashok Patni and his company APL by Rolls-Royce.
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