The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday said the probe agency has registered a money laundering case to probe two instances of alleged irregularities in the tendering process of the Delhi Jal Board (DJB). ED officials raided the premises of DJB employees as well as those of state-run company NBCC and some others.
The raids were launched at 16 locations in the national capital region, Kerala and Tamil Nadu on Monday, the Enforcement Directorate said in a statement. The premises of Delhi Jal Board (DJB), National Buildings Construction Corporation (NBCC) (India) Limited and private entities were searched.
"ED is investigating two separate matters of irregularities in the tendering process of DJB," the federal agency said.
It added the criminal case filed under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) stems from an FIR of the CBI and the Anti-Corruption Branch of the Delhi government. The CBI FIR alleged that DJB officials gave "undue advantage" to NKG Infrastructure Limited while awarding a tender to the company for the supply, installation, testing and commissioning of electromagnetic flow meters in connivance with officials of NBCC (India) Limited.
NKG Infrastructure Limited managed to secure "false" performance certificates issued by D K Mittal, the then General Manager of NBCC (India) Limited, and fabricated deviation statement issued by Sadhan Kumar, the then project executive of NBCC (India) Limited to qualify for a technical bid of the tender in 2017, it said.
During the tender process, the ED said, NKG Infrastructure Limited "entered into conspiracy" with then DJB Chief Engineer Jagdish Kumar Arora and his subordinate officers for qualifying and bagging a tender worth Rs 38 crore.
The second allegation pertains to the ACB complaint of November 2022 where it was stated that DJB awarded a tender for setting up automotive bill payment collection machines in its different offices for facilitating consumers in bill payment.
The tender was awarded to the Corporation Bank in the year 2012, which was further sub-contracted to Chennai-based private companies -- Freshpay IT Solutions Pvt. Ltd. and Aurrum E-payments Pvt. Ltd, the ED said.
These companies "violated" norms as prescribed in the agreement by "not depositing the cash payment collections in the bank accounts of DJB, within the prescribed period," the agency alleged.
"The said contract was initially awarded for three years which was extended by DJB from time to time till the 2019-20 financial year despite continued delay and non-transfer of bill payment amount collected for DJB."
"Probe found that during demonetisation, cash collections amounting to Rs 10.40 crore were not deposited or transferred to the DJB and funds collected in 2019 were reconciled with bill payments of the demonetisation period after a gap of more than 300 days," the ED charged.
The total principal loss incurred to the DJB during the whole period of the tender is Rs 14.41 crore which is still "outstanding" with the two private companies and its director Rajenderan K Nair, the agency said.
The ED teams seized "incriminating" documents and digital devices from the premises of the DJB and NBCC (India) officials and the directors of private entities involved.
Details of various undeclared properties in the name of DJB's Jagdish Kumar Arora were also recovered, the agency said.
(With PTI inputs)
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