http://www.bangaloremirror.com/bangalore/cover-story/From-fishermen-to-judges-How-Adani-bought-a-hassle-free-ride/articleshow/51801651.cms
Bangalore Mirror dated 13/4/16
SIT investigating scores of officers after details emerge of huge amounts paid for iron ore export
On March 8, 2008 an e-mail attachment with the subject line "cash a/c"
was sent from the accounts section of Adani Enterprises Limited at
Belekere port to the company head office. The e-mail triggered one of
the biggest investigations ever carried out by the Lokayukta's Special
Investigation Team (SIT), formed specifically to handle illegal mining
cases.
The mail detailed the huge amounts paid to officers
from various departments -- payments unaccounted for, made on behalf of
the company that did not feature on any official balance sheet. It would
mark the starting point of a tortuous 'bribery' trail that left no
hallway of power uncharted.
Under SIT's scanner are over 500
officials, ranging from SPs to MLAs and includes MPs, judges; even
traffic cops and hawaldars had a share of the pie. All this is mentioned
in the e-mail and it is alleged they were paid to "facilitate smooth
business".
Now senior officers and those in public service are braced to answer some tough questions as the investigation gathers steam.
"It is a huge task. The list spans a period of four years and each and
every designation mentioned in the mail has to be checked, notices
issued to those on the list who will also have to be summoned so their
statements can be recorded. The person who sent the mail has quit and he
too needs to be tracked down,'' a senior police official, part of the
investigating team explained to BM.
During the four-year
period -- 2004 to 2008 -- payments ranged from Rs500 to Rs2 lakh,
depending on the designation, were made. While the police outpost
regularly received Rs1,000, an obscure traffic control mentioned in the
list got Rs500. An unnamed judge got Rs50,000. In the police department,
according to the entries, right from the constable to the top man in
charge of the district, everyone was paid on almost a monthly basis.
The area MLA and MP were also allegedly well looked-after. The entries
show that in December 2005, the MLA was paid Rs1 lakh. Similarly, in
October and November 2006, there is an entry of Rs2.5 lakh and Rs3 lakh.
In November 2006, the MP was given Rs2 lakh and in October 2007,
another Rs2 lakh as an IOU.
The genesis of this case goes back
to the golden mining days in Bellary belt -- 2003-04 onwards. The
authorities smelt a rat as mining exports soared and mining firms owned
by influential politicians including G Janardhana Reddy made hay.
The Supreme Court-appointed Central Empowered Committee's interim
report in April 2011 estimated that between 2003 and 2010, in the
Bellary region alone, Rs15,245 crore worth of iron ore was illegally
exported. Subsequently, in July 2011, an inquiry report by the Lokayukta
put the total loss to state coffers at Rs16,085 crore.
Adani
Enterprises, one of Adani Group's flagship companies, was one among the
four stevedores that was leased a certain area within Belekere port for
providing facilities like jetties, barges, shelter, roads and other
amenities to facilitate the export of iron ore and undertake the loading
of cargo on to ships. As a stevedore, the company was expected to
maintain a record of data and accounts and ensure that all transactions
conformed to the Karnataka Ports Rules and other related regulations.
In February 2010, working on a tip off that illegally-mined iron ore
was being exported through Belekere port, the Lokayukta raided the port
and seized various documents including digital records belonging to
Adani Enterprises.
From the digital data recovered, a file was
retrieved with an e-mail attachment named "cash a/c" which gave out
information on the alleged bribes paid to officials. "It is alleged that
these payments were made to various public servants on behalf of the
company, to facilitate smooth business in return for hassle-free
business in the port. In the process, the officers committed criminal
misconduct by receiving the bribes,'' says the FIR filed in the case by
former SP of SIT H S Revanna in December 2014.
The SIT presided
over 68 mining cases in the early part of 2014 of which 40 have been
closed and 16 chargesheeted, including some high profile ones involving
politicians and well-known mining barons.
"While in most cases
only the designation of the concerned public servant was mentioned, in a
few instances names of public servants were mentioned. It is revealed
that the company conspired with various public servants belonging to
departments like ports, customs, police, mines and geology, weights and
measures, KSPCB, revenue, PWD or their offices; and also included MLAs,
MPs and judges and paid huge bribes to them amounting to Rs2.65 crore in
the four years in return for official favours,'' says the SIT FIR.
