Tag Archives: Slovakia

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Lt Gen Tejinder visited Army chief on Sept 22: Register

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Neeraj Chauhan, TNN Apr 23, 2012, 02.49AM IST

NEW DELHI: The Central Bureau of Investigation, which is probing Army chief General V K Singh’s claim that he was offered a Rs 14 crore bribe by Lt Gen (Retd) Tejinder Singh, has found that the “visitor’s register” of South Block has an entry showing that Lt Gen Tejinder Singh had visited the Army chief’s office on September 22, 2010.

The visitor’s entry in the register, which was taken by the CBI on Friday from South Block, has been signed by Lt Gen (Retd) Tejinder Singh and it mentions “official to meet” as Gen V K Singh.
A senior CBI officer said this was a “major evidence” to show that Lt Gen Tejinder Singh was in the Army chief’s office that day but what transpired inside the room, the alleged bribery offer, is yet to be proved. The Army chief assured CBI officials in his meeting on Friday that he would provide more evidence soon.

A CBI team had recorded Gen V K Singh’s statement in two rounds on Friday and picked up the ‘visitor’s register’. Apart from the register, the agency has also collected several documents provided by the Army chief, which reportedly include documents related to the Tatra deal and communications between the defence ministry and BEML.

Gen V K Singh had earlier this month given a written complaint to the CBI alleging that Lt Gen Tejinder Singh had come to his office on September 22, 2010 and had offered him a bribe of Rs 14 crore on behalf of Vectra group chairman Ravi Rishi to clear a deal of sub-standard Tatra trucks for the Indian Army. Sources said on that day, Gen V K Singh had asked his staff to “escort him (Lt Gen Tejinder Singh) out of his office” and reportedly asked Lt Gen Tejinder Singh “not to come again”.

Refuting the allegations, Lt Gen Tejinder Singh claimed in an interview that “he used to meet Gen V K Singh frequently for professional work and that he had gone to his (Gen V K Singh’s) office in September 2010 for some personal work”. He has also filed a defamation suit against the Army chief.

The agency is probing a preliminary enquiry into the alleged bribery offer and is expected to convert it into a regular case soon. Agency sources said they might question Lt Gen Tejinder Singh next week.

The agency has also collected some evidence in its probe in the Tatra procurement scam. Gen V K Singh too has provided important documents to the agency. The CBI has already approached Interpol to get details of companies related to Ravi Rishi in at least four countries- Czech Republic, Slovakia, UK and Liechtenstein.

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Money laundering in Tatra truck deal: ED tightens noose on Ravi Rishi

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Jagran Post -Posted on: 13 Apr 2012, 12:21 PM

New Delhi: After being interrogated by the CBI for his alleged role in the Tatra truck deal, the NRI businessman Ravi Rishi now has to face the heat from the Enforcement Directorate (ED), which is tightening its noose around him.

The ED has filed a case against Rishi under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and is mulling to recover the blackmoney from the accused. After going through the FIR filed by the CBI and the other documents, the ED officials have now decided to look into the case from the perspective of alleged money laundering.

According to sources, the links of the Tatra truck deal have been traced to England, Czech Republic and Slovakia. Earlier, in order to ascertain the original price of the supplies and detection of blackmoney earned by Rishi during the sale of trucks to the BEML, the CBI had sought help from the ED.

On the lines of the CBI, the ED has also made Rishi, BEML, Army and Defense Ministry officials as accused in the money laundering case.

Rishi has been accused of entering into a conspiracy with the officials of the Defence Ministry, Army and BEML in signing an agreement with England based company Tatra Sipox. As per the agreement, Tatra Sipox had purchased components of trucks from Czech Republic and Slovakia and supplied it to BEML at double price.

Later, the BEML manufactured trucks from these parts and supplied them to the Army which in return made the payment to Tatra Sipox.

According to the investigating agency, a share of the blackmoney earned by Rishi in the deal was distributed to the officials of the Army, Defence Ministry and BEML. The ED is now looking for the officials involved in the scam to freeze their properties.

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Tatra deal: CBI probes new company after Gen VK Singh accuses Vectra’s Ravi Rishi

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Neeraj Chauhan, TNN Apr 13, 2012, 12.40AM IST

NEW DELHI: CBI is investigating Venus Projects, a second company belonging to London-based businessman Ravi Rishi of Vectra group, after the NRI was named by Army chief Gen V K Singh as the person behind a Rs 14-crore bribe offer made to him in September, 2010.

The CBI is scanning Rishi over a complaint by Gen Singh that he was approached by retired Lt Gen Tejinder Singh for a contract for supply of Tatra trucks that the Army chief has said were substandard.

Rishi is being investigated for his links with Venus Projects as agency sources said the company was used by him for purchasing spare parts for Tatra trucks. The agency believes that the deal was signed between Rishi’s Vectra Group and BEML officials within three days of their meetings in 1997.

Sources said, “There was a meeting between BEML officials, Ravi Rishi’s Vectra group, Tatra Slovakia and other associates on June 11, 1997, in Slovakia, and on June 14, 1997, the MoU for procuring 600 Tatra trucks was signed in Bangalore”. CBI suspects BEML, a defence PSU, did not have a board meeting before the hurriedly-signed MoU.

Venus Projects is being seen as another link between Rishi and the Czech firm that projected the UK-based businessman’s Vectra group as the original equipment manufacturer to ensure that it remained central to any deal signed with BEML for supply of Tatra trucks, and didn’t flout the procurement norms.

Agency sources say that they have sought time from Gen V K Singh to know more about the bribe offer. The probe team is hoping to meet the Army chief on Friday, and later call Tejinder Singh for questioning.

The agency has sought documents of Venus Projects and Tatra Sipox (UK) to know about the meetings held in June, 1997. CBI is also likely to call officials of BEML who were involved in the MoU signed on June 14, 1997. CBI is also examining a large number of documents related to contracts of BEML for procuring Tatra trucks since 1997. The agency will also be questioning BEML chief V R S Natarajan soon.

The agency is also in the process of sending Letter Rogatories (LRs) to Czech Republic (original Tatra a s is based there), Slovakia and the UK.