DNA investigations: Vectra boss at centre of Tatra trucks scam
* June 20, 2012-
BEML-Tatra deal had faced objections from senior defence ministry officials over lack of indigenisation and other issues related to Czech all-terrain vehicles but still the PSU managed to keep on supplying them to army,
CBI sources said.
The sources in the agency, which is probing alleged irregularities in the deal, said one such instance was of Home Secretary
RK Singh who, during his tenure at Defence Ministry, had objected to the way the agreement with
Tatra Sipox UK was renewed by the
BEML in 2003, three years before schedule.
* June 11, 2012-
BEML Chief VRS Natarajan suspended by the Defence Ministry in connection with the Tatra case on a CBI recommendation after former
Army Chief Gen VK Singh levelled allegations that he was offered Rs14
crore bribe to clear a deal for 600 trucks.
* June 4, 2012-
The CBI is planning to approach Czech-based Tatra as to ascertain
the reasons for supplying older technology based all-terrain vehicles to
BEML even though it has better versions available.Although the CBI has decided to send the query through Letters
Rogatory (Letters of Request), the agency is also planning to send a
team to Czech Republic to meet the executives of the company in this
regard.
* June 1, 2012 -
Former Army Chief General VK Singh rejected the demand for an apology made by BEML chief VRS Natarajan on allegations of bribe in the
Tatra truck deal.
* May 10, 2012 -
BEML drew flak from the CAG for "overstatement" of revenue and profits from sale of Tatra trucks. "Overstatement of revenue due to incorrect recognition of sales in
the accounts for the year ended 31 March 2010 was commented earlier by
the CAG.
* May 5, 2012 -
The CBI questioned former BEML Chairman and Managing Director TVS Shastri, who preceded present Chairman VRS Natarajan, in connection with the Tatra all-terrain vehicle supply
deal. Shastri was questioned on
the agreements on technology transfer for manufacturing all-terrain
trucks from Tatra which are known to have unique axle technology
allowing it to conquer almost any terrain.
* May 2, 2012- "The Government hasn't imposed it (Tatra Truck) on the Army to have this vehicle" -
AK Antony in Rajya Sabha
* May 2, 2012-
The CBI questioned retired Lt General Tejinder Singh for the first time, in the case
relating to the bribery charges alleged by Army chief General VK Singh.
General VK Singh has accused Lt Gen Tejinder Singh of trying to bribe
him to clear the purchase of ‘sub-standard’ Tatra trucks for the Indian
Army.
* May 1, 2012 - The multi-crore Tatra truck scam will now be
investigated by the state unit of the CBI. The
CBI decided to hand over the case for further investigation to its Bangalore counterparts as it is related to Bangalore and has local
ramifications.
* April 2012-
CBI recorded the Army chief’s statement, in
which he had alleged that Tejinder Singh had offered Rs14 crore to him
on behalf of Ravi Rishi of Tatra trucks. Ravi Rishi has been questioned
by the CBI several times and a look out notice was also issued against
him to prevent him from leaving the country.
* April 19, 2012-
The CBI on Thursday booked BEML chairman VRS Natarajan for alleged cheating, criminal conspiracy and corruption in
connection with tendering process for hiring a private
consultancy firm and carried out searches at several locations including his residence
The agency has now named
Natarajan and
Coimbatore-based Astral Consultants' Director CS
Srivatsan as accused in the case of alleged tweaking of tenders in favour of the private company by the
BEML. According to the
CBI probe,
Natarajan and
Srivatsan were part of alleged criminal conspiracy to award work worth
Rs 40 crore to Astral Consultants
* April 17, 2012-
The CBI for the first time questioned Defence PSU BEML Chairman VRS Natarajan in connection with alleged irregularities in
procurement and supply of Tatra all-terrain trucks to the Army. Vectra Chairman Ravinder Rishi and former Bharat Earth Movers
Limited (BEML) Director (Defence Procurement) V Mohan were also quizzed
by the agency sleuths for nearly five hours about the deal and supply of
trucks
* April 14, 2012 -
The CBI has asked BEML Chairman and Managing Director VRS Natarajan to appear before it on Tuesday (April 17, 2012) for seeking clarifications pertaining to procurement and supply of
Tatra all-terrain trucks.
CBI sources said
Natarajan has been asked to appear only to clarify some points as he is not an accused in the case.
* April 13, 2012 - A week after the CBI questioned Vectra
chief Ravindra Rishi in connection with the alleged irregularities in
the supply of Tatra trucks to the army,
the ED filed money laundering cases against the London-based NRI businessman and his firms as well as officials of BEML.
* April 9, 2012 - The CBI is looking into the payments made by defence PSU BEML to
Tatra Sipox UK for the supply of all terrain trucks and plans to sent
judicial request to the United Kingdom seeking details of its financial
transactions and ownerships. The agency suspects that payments from BEML were actually going to a
tax haven, CBI sources said, adding that they are probing into it but
added that the investigations are in preliminary stage.
The sources said at present they are likely to send Letters Rogatory to the UK seeking information on financial transactions of Tatra Sipox UK in
which Vectra chairman Ravinder Rishi has been a Director, owning
substantial shares.
* April 9, 2012 -
Three senior officials of the finance and vigilance wings of BEML were examined by the CBI. The three senior officials including the Finance head of the BEML
were asked about different aspects by CBI officials to understand the
nuances of the deal. They were also asked about
prima facie discrepancies which have appeared from the scrutiny of
documents and questioning of Vectra chairman Ravinder Rishi by the CBI.
* April 3, 2012 -
The CBI has sought sanction of the Defence Ministry to probe BEML chief VRS Natarajan in some complaints in which preliminary inquiry has
been registered by it. However, no no sanction has been sought for a probe against him in the Tatra supply deal.
* March 30, 2012 -
VRS Natarajan, chairman and managing director of BEML, had rubbished whatever the general had said about Tatra trucks.
Dismissing Army Chief Gen VK Singh's comments on Tatra trucks as "not true", state-owned BEML said that it had never received any single complaint from the force in its over two decades association. At a press conference in Delhi, he said he had "great respect" for
the army chief but did not not agree with his reported remarks that the
Tatra trucks were "sub-standard".
* March 30, 2012-
CBI registered a case in purchases of Tatra Trucks against
Ravi Rishi and unknown officials of defence ministry and BEML.
* March 30, 2012 -
CBI officials carried out searches at four places in Delhi, Noida and Bangalore
* March 26, 2012 -
Gen. V K Singh alleged that a retired lieutenant general had offered him a bribe of Rs14 crore to “clear the tranche
[purchase of 600 substandard Tatra-all-terrain vehicles]”, skeletons
have been tumbling out, pitting the army against the defence ministry
and BEML.
* 2012-
The audit report (No. 24 of 2011-12) on defence services noted: "The
increase of Rs352 crore under heavy and medium vehicles was mainly due
to… additional requirement of funds for the new scheme (HMV Tatra
Quantity 788)".
* July 22, 2011 -
Top officials of BEML Limited, a Bangalore-based company, and the defence ministry have siphoned off at least Rs750 crore in bribes and commissions over the past 14 years in the purchase of components for Tatra trucks, backbone of the army’s artillery and transportation wings. The Indian Army uses Tatra all-terrain vehicles to mount guided
missile launchers and haul heavy artillery. It also uses these vehicles
to transport personnel, supplies, tanks, ammunition, bailey bridges, and
the like.
* March 2010-
At least Rs314.85 crore was paid as advance for contracts that were hastily pushed through in March 2010 "for Tatra vehicles". But "no
benefit could be achieved" and there was a case of "over-booking".
*
October 22, 2009-
The defence ministry’s department of defence production replied, stating that the matter (Tatra trucks deal) is under
investigation. “I would like to inform you that the matter is being
examined in this ministry… the examination may take some time. As such,
the minister [Azad] will be communicated after detailed examination of
the case at appropriate level.”
*
October 5, 2009-
Ghulam Nabi Azad, a senior Congress party colleague and then health minister, wrote to Antony/Defence Ministry on behalf of Sonia Gandhi requesting “necessary
action” in the Tatra matter
* September 2, 2009- Replying to a similar letter from Dr Hanumanthappa dated September 2,
2009, the then Law Minister Moily said: “I am taking up the matter with the ministry concerned"
* August 2009- Dr D Hanumanthappa, president of the
Karnataka wing of All India Federation of SC/ST/Backward Class and
Minority Employees Welfare Association,
wrote to Congress president Sonia Gandhi stating that VRS Natarajan (BEML CMD) placed an order worth Rs6,000 crores for Tatra trucks from a UK agent and not from the
Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) in violation of defence
procurement guidelines.
The letter enclosed a detailed submission
from Ashok SN, then assistant general manager of BEML’s ‘Trucks
Division’, that clearly established how BEML, the nodal agency appointed
by the government to procure trucks for the Indian army, violated
defence procurement guidelines in the purchase of Tatra trucks.
* December 2008 -
Replying to Tatra Sipox’s draft agreement, a BEML official pointed out: “Tatra Sipox (UK) Ltd have cunningly once again
omitted references to the previous understandings/agreements.”
* November 25, 2008 -
Letter from a BEML official commented on the agreement: “Tatra Sipox (UK) Ltd is well known for its unjustified
demand for increase in prices”. It went on to list a few examples. “Of
late, the UK company has been insisting on steep increase in prices of
completely knocked down (CKD) kits and spare parts.” Tatra Sipox had
drafted a clause that would provide it with room for “demanding
additional money”, the letter said. “[This] need not be agreed to. We
must be satisfied with the adequacy of technical support and there need
not be any room for negotiating further course of action.”
* 2006- Comptroller & Auditor General
(CAG) found that orders for Tatra trucks were placed after considerable manipulation “to keep the
production line of BEML alive”.
* March 2006 - ...inexplicable changes followed and an order for 490 trucks were placed with BEML at an estimated cost of Rs254.54 crores
* 2003 -
Tatra Sipox had accepted that it had provided outdated models of Tatra trucks and formally agreed to provide the latest versions
* 2003 -
BEML signed another 10-year agreement with Tatra Sipox (UK),
four years before the first agreement ended, to increase the scope of
the relationship.
* Between 2002 and 2006- Based on its experience in the Kargil war in 1999 and during Operation
Parakram in 2002,
the army issued a fresh set of parameters for buying trucks (six-wheel drive trucks under GSQR 486). And three firms, BEML
with its Tatra trucks, Tata Motors and Ashok Leyland, were shortlisted. Subsequently the LPTA 1621 truck of Tata Motors qualified for induction.
* 1998 -
Tatra Sipox a s came into being
* 1997 -
Tatra Sipox UK signed the truck supply deal with BEML which was in alleged violation of defence procurement rules which say that
procurement should be done directly from original equipment manufacturer
only.
* June 23, 1994 -
Tatra Sipox (UK) Ltd was incorporated in Britain with Jozef Majsky and Venus Projects Ltd as shareholders
* 1986-
First Tatra Truck purchased
* 1986 -
BEML took up the manufacture of Tatra heavy duty trucks under a licence agreement from Omnipol Foreign Trade Corporation, Czechoslovakia. The agreement was valid till March 1997. Six years later, Czechoslovakia broke up into the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
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