To the President Pranab Mukherjee, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi,
I am writing with even more shocking information about the unsuitability of Mr Suresh Prabhu as Rail Minister and for any Government of India position.
Even a basic background search about Mr Suresh Prabhu and his family would have shown many red flags in connection with his suitability for a cabinet ministerial post or any government post.
An internet search shows that Suresh Prabhu's son Ameya Prabhu and Suresh Prabhu's wife Uma Prabhu are promoter-directors in several companies whose names indicate operations in the business areas of finance, infrastructure, consultancy and energy. Mr Suresh Prabhu is not a business tycoon. Since 1995/1996, he claims to have been in politics. He has been an MP four times. He was a Chartered Accountant. His wife Uma Prabhu is supposed to be a journalist/ writer.
Then why are his son and wife promoters/ directors in the following companies. These are obviously Suresh Prabhu's benami companies.
SURVALL GLOBAL PROJECTS PRIVATE LIMITED
GREENERGY WIND FARMS PRIVATE LIMITED
YELLOW MAPLE FINANCIAL ADVISORS PRIVATE LIMITED
INDO-AFRICA RESOURCES PRIVATE LIMITED
INFRA POWER CONSULTING PRIVATE LIMITED
ESSAY INFRA RESOURCES PRIVATE LIMITED
GREENERGY PROJECT DEVELOPMENT COMPANY PRIVATE LIMITED
FORESIGHT 2020 PROJECT CONSULTANTS PRIVATE LIMITED
BLUE CRANE HOLDINGS PRIVATE LIMITED
CLEANTECH RENEWABLE ENERGY PRIVATE LIMITED
ENERGY INDIA CORPORATION LIMITED
GREENERGY RENEWABLES PRIVATE LIMITED
MANAV SADHAN VIKAS SUSTAINABLE FOUNDATION
EDUWISE CONSULTANCY PRIVATE LIMITED
DUES BERG BOSSON FINANCIAL SERVICES PRIVATE LIMITED
This confirms that Suresh Prabhu, his wife and son have been involved in some very suspicious business/ financial dealings through these companies.
I also refer to the following statement from Ameya Prabhu's profile as posted on the website of his company Greenergy Renewables.
"He was involved in formulating a relationship with a leading European utility for co-developing a thermal power plant in Maharashtra, India and in tying up the coal linkage for the project".
This statement shows that Ameya Prabhu basically acted as a middleman/ fixer/ broker for this project. He also tied up the coal linkage. Was this part of the coal scam allotments?
Seema Sapra
The information on Suresh Prabhu's benami companies where his wife/son are directors is reproduced below. A copy of Suresh Prabhu's CV is also attached.
SURVALL GLOBAL PROJECTS PRIVATE LIMITED
U40108MH2011PTC214752
No of Views
7
( 0 voters)
SURVALL GLOBAL PROJECTS PRIVATE LIMITED is a private company registered on 14/03/2011. The company has an authorized capital of Rs 50,00,000.00 and paid-up capital of Rs 1,00,000.00.
Its registered office is situated at 809, Dalamal Towers,nariman Point, Free Press Marg,, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India-400021.
The status of company in the records of Registrar is active which means that it is actively doing all its filing with the Registrar.
Company has currently 2 director and falls under the jurisdiction of Registrar of Company-Mumbai.
Incorporation Date
14/03/2011
|
Registering Authority
Registrar of Company-Mumbai
|
Registration Number
214752
|
Listing Type
Unlisted
|
Company Nature
Company limited by shares
|
Company Type
Private
|
Status at Registry
Active
|
Company Sub Category
Indian Non-Government Company
|
Authorized Capital
Rs. 50,00,000.00
|
Paid-up Capital
Rs. 1,00,000.00
|
|
· EDIT
| |
Address
|
809, DALAMAL TOWERS,NARIMAN POINT, FREE PRESS MARG,
|
City
|
MUMBAI
|
State
|
Maharashtra
|
Country
|
INDIA
|
Pin
|
400021
|
Email Id
| |
DIN/DPIN/PAN
|
Director Name
|
Appointment Date
|
Designation
| |
AMEYA SURESH PRABHU
|
14/03/2011
|
Director
| ||
UMA SURESH PRABHU
|
21/03/2014
|
Additional Director
| ||
DIN/Director Name
|
Company Name
|
Designation
| ||
Director
| ||||
Director
| ||||
Director
| ||||
Director
| ||||
Director
| ||||
Director
| ||||
Director
| ||||
Director
| ||||
Director
| ||||
Director
| ||||
Director
| ||||
Director
| ||||
Director
| ||||
Director
| ||||
Director
| ||||
Director
| ||||
Director
| ||||
Director
| ||||
Director
| ||||
Director
| ||||
Director
| ||||
To the President Pranab Mukherjee, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi,
I am concerned that Mr Suresh Prabhu as the new Railway Minister will assist General Electric Company and Montek Singh Ahluwalia in covering up the corruption, bribes, forgery, fraud, and illegal lobbying involved in the Projects and tenders for the diesel locomotive factory at Marhowra and the electric locomotive factory at Madhepura, which complaints are subjudice before the Delhi High Court in Writ Petition Civil No. 1280/2012 (Seema Sapra v General Electric Company & Others). The PMO, the Railway Ministry, the CVC, the CBI and the Delhi Police Commissioner are the State respondents who have all been issued notice by the Delhi High Court in this matter. General Electric Company, Bombardier, Siemens, Alstom, EMD (a Caterpillar subsidiary) and BHEL are all respondents in this matter who have been issued notice by the Delhi High Court.
I remind you of some aspects from Mr Suresh Prabhu's past and recent past.
Mr Suresh Prabhu was involved in the multi-crore cobbler scam in Maharahtra in the mid-1990s when he was Chairman of Saraswat Bank.
Mr Suresh Prabhu also played a dubious role in the Enron-GE-Dabhol scam when he was Power Minister in the Vajpayee led NDA government. It appears as if Suresh Prabhu's appointment as Power Minister was to facilitate the cover up of the corrupt dealings in the Dabhol Project.
Suresh Prabhu benefited from the Adarsh scam as a flat allottee, and with his links to power and politics in Maharashtra, his claim that he was unaware of the illegalities and was a mere "victim" is disingenuous.
I attach a copy of Mr Suresh Prabhu's CV. He claims to be active as an entrepreneur in the area of renewable energy. He is therefore bound to have past and ongoing ties to General Electric Company, one of the biggest corporates in the area of energy and renewable energy.
Mr Suresh Prabhu is pursuing a PhD at the Freie University in Berlin, which is described on the internet as a CIA funded organization.
Mr Suresh P. Prabhu is Chairperson of the Council on Energy, Environment and Water, India.
Suresh Prabhu's son Ameya Prabhu is an entrepreneur and investor in energy portfolios and projects. His CV reads like that of a middleman for energy deals.
Suresh Prabhu and his son Ameya Prabhu appear to have been jointly working as a lobbying/fixer/facilitator team for corporate interests in the area of renewable energy and water policy and projects in India.
Suresh Prabhu and his son Ameya Prabhu must disclose their past and present dealings (including financial dealings) with General Electric Company and its affiliates.
Ameya Prabhu's business interests create a clear conflict of interest if Suresh Prabhu handles any energy/ renewable energy related policy/ projects for the Government of India. It is therefore a matter of grave concern that the present government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has appointed Suresh Prabhu as the head of a high-level panel on power revamp — "Advisory Group for Integrated Development of Power, Coal and Renewable Energy."
I have earlier complained of conflict of interest concerns regarding Montek Singh Ahluwalia and his son Pawan Ahluwalia. Mr Suresh Prabhu and his son Ameya Prabhu are in the same boat and Mr Suresh Prabhu's recent appointments to positions in the Government of India raise serious concerns of conflict of interest.
The Narendra Modi government came to power after an election campaign run on anti-corruption messaging and promises. That is why the appointment of Mr Suresh Prabhu to government positions and to the Railway Ministry despite his conflict of interest and past background of involvement in corruption and its cover-up is very disappointing. I urge Prime Minister Narendra Modi to correct course and to ensure that there is no cover up of the corruption, bribes, forgery, fraud, and illegal lobbying involved in the Projects and tenders for the diesel locomotive factory at Marhowra and the electric locomotive factory at Madhepura, which complaints are subjudice before the Delhi High Court in Writ Petition Civil No. 1280/2012 (Seema Sapra v General Electric Company & Others).
I have included below a brief dossier on Mr Suresh Prabhu and his son Ameya Prabhu.
I am concerned that Mr Sadanand Gowda was replaced with Suresh Prabhu because the former was hesitant to proceed with the corrutpion-tainted Madhepura and Marhowra projects. Recently in September 2014, the Railways Financial Commissioner in a letter to Mr Gowda (as Rail Minister) had recommended that these Projects be scrapped as such long-term purchase orders with assured off-take were unnecessary and constituted a debt-trap for the Indian Railways.
Seema Sapra
Dossier on Suresh Prabhu
Amerya Prabhu is the Deputy Managing Director of Greenergy Renewables Private Limited which describes itself as a Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer (IPP) and a Renewable Energy Services Company (RESCO). According to its website, Blue Crane Holdings Pvt. Ltd. (BCH) is the investor in Greenergy Renewables Pvt. Ltd. Ameya Prabhu is the nominee of Blue Crane in Greenergy.
Greenergy's website contains the following profile for Ameya Prabhu:
"Mr. Ameya Prabhu - Deputy Managing Director
Mr Ameya Prabhu, in his capacity as Deputy Managing Director, is responsible for working closely with the Managing Director to lead the organization towards achievement of its goals. Mr Prabhu is involved extensively in devising a corporate strategy for Greenergy, and in raising funds for the company.
Mr Prabhu is a nominee of Blue Crane Holdings on the Board of Directors of Greenergy Renewables. Blue Crane Holdings is a company focused on emerging business opportunities in the water and clean energy sectors. His areas of expertise include: finance, renewable energy, energy efficiency, power, foreign collaborations and partnerships.
Mr Prabhu was previously a Director with Energy India Corporation and was involved in developing thermal and wind power projects in South Asia. He was involved in formulating a relationship with a leading European utility for co-developing a thermal power plant in Maharashtra, India and in tying up the coal linkage for the project. His earlier experience includes stints at IL&FS marine transport division, Enam Consultants, DSP Merill Lynch and ICICI Bank.
Mr Prabhu holds a Masters in Financial Management from the IE Business School and is a CFA Level II Candidate. He has a B.Sc. in Economics, Politics and International Studies at the University of Warwick."
The Blue Crane website at http://www.bluecraneholding.com/index01.htm contains no information about its officers or its investors. The only information on this website is some contact information which reads as under:
"Aban House, 3rd floor, Sai Baba Lane
(Rope Walk Lane), Behind Rhythm House
Fort, Mumbai 400023 INDIA
Tel : +91-22-4002 5770
Fax : +91-22-4002 5778
Email: info@bluecraneholding.com
Web : www.bluecraneholding.com"
Ameya Prabhu is also shown as a Director in Essay Infra, and the company's website contains the following profile for Suresh Prabhu:
"Ameya Prabhu, Director
With a Bsc. in Economics, Politics and International Studies from the University of Warwick and a Masters in Financial Management from the IE Business School in Madrid, Spain, he is actually positioned as a CFA Level II Candidate.
Previously a Director with Energy India Corporation, Mr. Prabhu was involved in developing thermal and wind power projects in South Asia. He was involved in formulating a relationship with a leading European utility for co-developing a thermal power plant in Maharashtra, India and in tying up the coal linkage for the project. His earlier experience includes stints at IL&FS marine transport division, Enam Consultants, DSP Merill Lynch and ICICI Bank.
Mr.Prabhu's areas of expertise include: finance, renewable energy, energy efficiency, power, foreign collaborations and partnerships. Currently he is actively working towards promoting closer integration between companies in India, China and Latin America."
Energy India Corporation has no functional website. This is where Ameya Prabhu claims to have worked earlier.
ESSAY INFRA RESOURCES PVT. LTD.
Corporate Office:
201, Sumer Kendra,
P.B. Marg, Worli,
Mumbai 400093,
Maharashtra, India.
Tel.: +91 22 - 40963300
Fax: +91 22 - 40963300
Email: info@essayinfra.com
Essay Infra's website describes its business areas in the following terms:
"Business Areas
SWIFT business, swiftly.
Essay Infra has evolved its key areas of focus in synch with the India-development theme. With our focus on Solar Energy, Water, Infrastructure, Finance and Trading, Essay Infra is aligned to make most of the immense potential that lies ahead in the region.
We have designed the interplay between our areas of focus and our global partnerships to embed speed and efficiency as we seek to focus on SWIFT in a swift manner."
Mr Suresh Prabhu also appeared to own a Finance Company at one time.
"AMEYA PRABHU FINANCE LIMITED
L65990MH1997PLC106955
No of Views
8
( 0 voters)
Brief
AMEYA PRABHU FINANCE LIMITED is a listed company registered on 31/03/1997. The company has an authorized capital of Rs 30,00,000.00 and paid-up capital of Rs 25,00,000.00.
Its registered office is situated at Unit No 1/2 & 3 Mid Townplaza Shivaji Nagarnear Punjab National Bank, Thane, Maharashtra, India-400604.
The status of company in the records of Registrar is strike off which means that it has closed its operations.
Company has currently 0 director and falls under the jurisdiction of Registrar of Company-Mumbai.
BASIC DETAILS
Incorporation Date
31/03/1997
Registering Authority
Registrar of Company-Mumbai
Registration Number
106955
Listing Type
Listed
Company Nature
Company limited by shares
Company Type
Public
Status at Registry
Strike off
Company Sub Category
Indian Non-Government Company
Authorized Capital
Rs. 30,00,000.00
Paid-up Capital
Rs. 25,00,000.00
CONTACT DETAILS
Edit
Address UNIT NO 1/2 & 3 MID TOWNPLAZA SHIVAJI NAGARNEAR PUNJAB NATIONAL BANK
City THANE
State Maharashtra
Country INDIA
Pin 400604
Email Id Not Available"
Published: July 2, 2014 01:58 IST | Updated: July 2, 2014 01:58 IST
Suresh Prabhu to head panel on power
Sandeep Dikshit
The National Democratic Alliance government has appointed the former Cabinet Minister, Suresh Prabhu, as the head of a high-level panel on power revamp — "Advisory Group for Integrated Development of Power, Coal and Renewable Energy."
Mr. Prabhu will draw on his experience as the initiator of reforms in the power sector during his tenure as Power Minister in the former NDA government when he had piloted the integrated electricity bill and the law for setting up a regulator, something that current Minister Piyush Goyal wants to do in the coal sector, sources said.
Mr. Prabhu will be assisted by three former bureaucrats — Pratyush Sinha, Anil Baijal and Partha Bhattacharya.
The former Central Vigilance Commissioner, Pratyush Sinha, was earlier heading a committee overseeing distribution of Central officers of Andhra Pradesh cadre between the two successor States of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh in the previous government.
Vast experience
Mr. Baijal has extensive experience in the public and private sectors. A former Indian Airlines chief and former Union Home Secretary, he has also been associated with DLF, ITC and Bharti Groups post-retirement.
Mr. Bhattacharya is a former Coal India Limited chief who had piloted the country's largest IPO. He was also instrumental in turning around Bharat Coal that was incurring annual losses of Rs. 600 crore.
Keywords: Power ministry, Suresh Prabhu
National MAGAZINE | JAN 15, 1997
MAHARASHTRA
Beneficiaries All
Politicians are implicated in the Rs 1,000-crore cobbler scam
CHARUBALA ANNUNCIO
THE boot may well be on the other foot now. While it was former sheriff Sadruddin Daya of Dawood shoes, Rafique Tejani of Metro Shoes and Kishore Signapurkar of Milano Shoes who were held as the prime accused in the Rs 1,000-crore cobbler scam, fresh investigations have revealed the full-fledged compliance of Maharashtra politicians in the fraud.
Leaders from all three prominent parties—the Congress, the BJP and the Shiv Sena—appear to have been involved in the diabolical siphoning of public funds under the garb of setting up cooperative societies for poor cobblers.
While Congressman Shinde's Chakrayu society flouted rules with impunity, the Sena-BJP's Munde (right) helped by making it easy for Mumbai cooperatives to avail of KVIC subsidies.
And in the coming weeks, investigators hope to unearth the names of the political beneficiaries of the embezzlement.
Meanwhile, allegations are flying thick and fast. Among the political links being investigated is that of former Maharashtra chief minister, Sharad Pawar. Though there is no direct evidence implicating the Congress leader, investigations have revealed Tejani to be a director of the Rs 500-crore Dynamix Dairy Products Pvt Ltd in which Pawar is believed to have a stake through the holdings of family members. According to sources, the sole milk supplier to Dynamix, the Baramati Milk Cooperative, is controlled by Pawar. Sources hint that a good amount of the money from the shoe scam may have been diverted to Dynamix. However, the Pawar link still remains tenuous.
What is not tenuous, however, is that it was during Pawar's regime that Congressmen had a field day. It was at this time thistimethat Sushil Kumar Shinde, chief of the Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC), floated the Chakrayu society which flouted every rule in the book. It dealt in machine-made goods against the mandatory rule of handcrafted leatherwear. So while the project report guaranteed employment to 2,000 cobblers, only about 50 were actually employed. Further, the rules say that 10 per cent of the total funds should be contributed by members of the society; 60 per cent should come from financial institutions and the state government should loan the remaining 30 per cent. However, according to the Accountant General's report, member contribution to the Rs 133-lakh Chakrayu project was just Rs 4.75 lakh. Of this, Rs 4.25 lakh was contributed by 200 members who were shown as "people of repute". Investigations reveal that they included Kripashankar, vice-president, MPCC and Ramdas Phutane, a Congress MLC, among others.
With the cobblers being too poor to contribute even the token Rs 100 to join cooperatives, it is usually the Mahatma Phule Vikas Mahamandal which pays their membership fee. However, in the case of Chakrayu, the Mahamandal refused to give the funds. In 1992, Shinde, then state finance minister, got the government to sanction Rs 44.5 lakh for the society in three instalments. In a further flouting of rules, Shinde got the Maharashtra State Finance Corporation to sanction Rs 60 lakh.
Once Chakrayu was formed, the cobblers' interests were given a back seat, say sources. Normally, every member of a cooperative society has equal voting rights, but Chakrayu modified the rule—only members with a contribution of Rs 1,000 or more were entitled to vote. This virtually alienated the cobbler members of the society.
The Congress involvement has given enough ammunition to the BJP and the Shiv Sena against the previous regime, although both parties cannot deny the involvement of some of their own members. For the moment, however, it is Pawar and his partymen who are being accused of turning a blind eye to the looting of public money. Points out Kirit Somaiya, MLA and Mumbai city president of the BJP: "The previous government cannot be absolved of the responsibility of letting such activity flourish for over 10 years." Nor does that absolve the Shiv Sena-BJP government. The present deputy chief minister, Gopinath Munde, who held the finance portfolio for about three months and presented the '96-'97 budget, is also under the cloud of suspicion. Mrs Maharuk Keravala, a friend of Tejani's wife and a prime suspect in the scam, has alleged that she, along with BJP MLA Sadashiv Lokh-ande and others, approached Munde to help them out. Munde obliged by raising the sales tax exemption limit to Rs 50 lakh and doing away with the need for societies to get a certifi-cation from the Khadi Village Industries Commission (KVIC). The KVIC had laid down in 1987 that only societies located in villages were entitled to benefits from it. By doing away with the need for certification, Munde made it possible for cooperatives located in Mumbai to enjoy the bene-fits of KVIC subsidies.
As investigations continue, lesser known politicians are also being pulled into the net. Money to prime accused Sadruddin Daya was sanctioned by the chairman of Saraswat Cooperative Bank, Suresh Prabhu, who is now a Shiv Sena MP. Bomb blast accused Abu Azmi of the Samajwadi Party has also been found to have links with the scam-sters. The Economic Offence Wing has identified Shiv Sena legislator Baburao Mane among those who may have been aware of the scam.
The BJP claims it is looking into the involvement of its members. The Sena has not been as categoric. But with the interrogation of the accused revealing names of leading lights in the political firmament, the cobbler scam is likely to have a fallout whose repercussions will be felt by all parties, be it the Congress, the BJP or the Shiv Sena.
The Great Indian Cobbler Scam
24
APR
So, in my 5th semester I had to make a project and presentation on 'The Cobbler Scam' and while doing all my online research on this topic I realized there wasn't a wikipedia page dedicated to this scam so I thought I'd post my project on my blog for anyone who'd be interested in knowing more about it.
Many of the details are going to shock you and for people who've never even heard about this scam,you might even find it amusing,initially. Most people haven't heard about the Great Indian Cobbler Scam because it happened only in Mumbai and was exposed in 1995 and ever since there have been SEVERAL scams that have been unearthed which were way bigger and significant than this one. Nevertheless, this scam involved a lot of money and many banks and prominent people as well. And we need to be aware of how rampant corruption in India is in every single field. No wonder India can be aptly called 'The land of Scams'.
So here it is, The Great Indian Cobbler Scam
Image
The Cobbler Scam is one of the biggest multi million dollars scam in Indian History, is nicknamed The Great Cobbler Scam. What really happened in this Great Cobbler Scam was that various businessman & politicians had siphoned around $600 million US dollars from a scheme that was floated by the Government of India meant to benefit the poor cobblers of Mumbai. Instead, it went into the pockets of the elites who used this money to built luxury homes for themselves and also brought luxury cars, boats, arts, etc. The money of the scheme was meant to provide low interest loans and tax concessions to the Mumbai's poorest – cobblers who work 16-hours a day for less than $2. Not a single penny reached these cobblers.
The modus operandi of the mastermind was to float a cooperative society of cobblers to avail of soft government loans through various schemes. Several bogus societies of cobblers were formed only for the purpose of availing these soft government loans. The main heads Daya of Dawood Shoes, Rafique Tejani of Metro Shoes and Kishore Signapurkar of Milano Shoes created fictitious cooperative societies for cobblers. On behalf of these non existing cooperative societies they availed loans of crores of rupees from different banks. The accused created a fictitious cooperative society of cobblers to take advantage of government loans through various schemes. The banks involved in giving loans were also charge sheeted.
The primary accused in the multi-crore shoe scam is Sohin Daya, son of former Sheriff of Mumbai. The people involved in this racket were Saddrudin Daya, former sheriff of Mumbai and owner of Dawood Shoes, Rafique Tejani, owner of Metro Shoes, Kishore Signapurkar, proprietor of Milano Shoes, and Abu Asim Azmi, president of Samajwadi Party's Mumbai unit and partner in Citywalk Shoes. Beside them various officials of banks and financial institutions were also involved in this multi million dollars scam.
The Banks whose officials were involved in this scam are: Maharashtra State Finance Corporation, Citibank, Bank of Oman, Dena Bank, Development Credit Bank, Saraswat Co-operative Bank, and Bank of Bahrain and Kuwait.
This scam cost the Government of India around $600 million US dollars. This was one of the worst scam in India that cheated the poorest people of the society and benefited a lot of rich and elite people. This is one of the reasons why poverty in India is difficult to eliminate. The scam was exposed in 1995.
HOW THE SCAM UNEARTHED:
The following is an article by the Express News Service on how the Cobbler Scam was exposed:
VIGILANT AGENCIES EXPOSED SHOE SCAM
Express News Service
MUMBAI, June 1: The unearthing of the Rs 1600-crore cobbler's scam that closed in on bigwigs of the shoe industry was expected, caused as it was by three agencies working towards its exposure.
Officials of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation's octroi department had lodged complaints about raw materials being brought into the city on a large scale. These materials had octroi concessions as they were brought in lieu of the cooperative societies. On the basis of the complaints, the police carried out its own investigations, and a diligent officer in the office of the Registrar of Cooperative Societies decided to do a complete survey of registered societies in Mumbai.
Immediately after taking charge in 1995, Sudhir Thakre, the joint registrar of the Cooperative Society for Mumbai division, ordered a survey of the registered societies. "Our officers, especially auditors of each of these societies complained that most of these societies did not exist at the registered addresses furnished to this office," Thakre said in an exclusive interview to Express Newsline, narrating the process of investigation into the big business' way to success through fictitious cobbler societies.
Thakre decided to survey all the societies that had been formed. "Normally, since most of the cobblers were poor and illiterate, we did not like to harass them with too much inspection. "This leniency on the registrar's part was misused by the businessmen," he admitted.
The BMC, meanwhile, complained to the police about huge consignments of raw materials (used for the purpose of shoe-making) being brought into Mumbai. Worth around two crores, these materials obtained octroi concessions. The police started making their own investigations, and both the agencies got suspicious when "all the cobblers' societies were found missing."A clearer picture emerged by January 1996 when flying squads with the registrar were given specific orders to follow a society to its very last. A report on prima facie evidence was made for the police by March 1996.
"My boys worked for five months, sometimes without the societies themselves realising it, and by August 1996, we got the complete picture," he said.
DCP Sanjay Pandey, who had taken over the Economic Offences Wing then approached him asking for details, since he too was working on the case. "By September 9, a report of 80 to 90 pages was ready for the police. "Till then, we had completed 19 raids and 51 societies were being investigated." The rest, as they say, is history.
Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
People Affected by the Scam
•The poor Cobblers of Mumbai are the one who are majorly affected by the Scam as they were not benefited by a single rupee of the Scheme which was meant only for them.
•Government of India was also affected by the Scam as the scam cost the Government around 1200 crores Indian rupees.
•The Banks whose officials were involved in the scam like Maharashtra State Finance Corporation, Citibank, Bank of Oman, Dena Bank, Development Credit Bank, Saraswat Co-operative Bank, and Bank of Bahrain and Kuwait, spoiled their reputation.
•Politicians, bureaucrats and top shoe manufacturers in Maharashtra were also affected as the Shoes manufacturers have to shut their shoe outlets and their business was lost.
Politicians Implicated in the Scam
The boot may well be on the other foot now. While it was former sheriff Sadruddin Daya of Dawood shoes, Rafique Tejani of Metro Shoes and Kishore Signapurkar of Milano Shoes who were held as the prime accused in the Rs 1,000-crore cobbler scam, fresh investigations have revealed the full-fledged compliance of Maharashtra politicians in the fraud.
Leaders from all three prominent parties the Congress, the BJP and the Shiv Sena appear to have been involved in the diabolical siphoning of public funds under the garb of setting up cooperative societies for poor cobblers. Meanwhile, allegations are flying thick and fast. Among the political links being investigated is that of former Maharashtra chief minister, Sharad Pawar. Though there is no direct evidence implicating the Congress leader, investigations have revealed Tejani to be a director of the Rs500-crore Dynamix Dairy Products Pvt Ltd in which Pawar is believed to have a stake through the holdings of family members. According to sources, the sole milk supplier to Dynamix, the Baramati Milk Cooperative, is controlled by Pawar. Sources hint that a good amount of themoney from the shoe scam may have been diverted to Dynamix. However, the Pawar link still remains tenuous. What is not tenuous, however, is that it was during Pawar's regime that Congressmen had a field day. It was at this time that Sushil Kumar Shinde, chief of the Maharashtra Pradesh CongressCommittee (MPCC), floated the Chakrayu society which flouted every rule in the book. It dealt in machine-made goods against the mandatory rule of handcrafted leatherwear. So while the project report guaranteed employment to 2,000 cobblers, only about 50 were actually employed.
Further, the rules say that 10 per cent of the total funds should be contributed by members of the society; 60 per cent should come from financial institutions and the state government should loan the remaining 30 per cent. However, according to the Accountant General's report, member contribution to the Rs 133-lakh Chakrayu project was just Rs 4.75 lakh. Of this, Rs 4.25 lakh was contributed by 200 members who were shown as "people of repute". Investigations reveal that they included Kripashankar, vice-president, MPCC and Ramdas Phutane, a Congress MLC,among others.
With the cobblers being too poor to contribute even the token Rs 100 to join cooperatives, it is usually the Mahatma Phule Vikas Mahamandal which pays their membership fee. However, in the case of Chakrayu, the Mahamandal refused to give the funds. In 1992, Shinde, then state finance minister, got the government to sanction Rs 44.5 lakh for the society in three instalments. In a further flouting of rules, Shinde got the Maharashtra State Finance Corporation to sanction Rs 60 lakh. Once Chakrayu was formed, the cobblers' interests were given a back seat, say sources. Normally, every member of a cooperative society has equal voting rights, but Chakrayu modified the rule only members with a contribution of Rs 1,000 or more were entitled to vote. This virtually alienated the cobbler members of the society. The Congress involvement has given enough ammunition to the BJP and the Shiv Sena against the previous regime, although both parties cannot deny the involvement of some of their own members.
For the moment, however, it is Pawar and his party men who are being accused of turning a blind eye to the looting of public money. Points out Kirit Somaiya, MLA and Mumbai city president of the BJP: "The previous government cannot be absolved of the responsibility of letting such activity flourish for over 10 years." Nor does that absolve the Shiv Sena-BJP government. The present deputy chief minister, Gopinath Munde, who held the finance portfolio for about three months and presented the '96-'97 budget, is also under the cloud of suspicion. Mrs.Maharuk Keravala, a friend of Tejani's wife and a prime suspect in the scam, has alleged that she, along with BJP MLA Sadashiv Lokh-ande and others, approached Munde to help them out. Munde obliged by raising the sales tax exemption limit to Rs 50 lakh and doing away with the need for societies to get a certification from the Khadi Village Industries Commission (KVIC).The KVIC had laid down in 1987 that only societies located in villages were entitled to benefits from it. By doing away with the need for certification, Munde made it possible for cooperatives located in Mumbai to enjoy the benefits of KVIC subsidies. As investigations continue, lesser known politicians are also being pulled into the net. Money to prime accused Sadruddin Daya was sanctioned by the chairman of Saraswat Cooperative Bank, Suresh Prabhu, who is now a Shiv Sena MP. Bomb blast accused Abu Azmi of the Samajwadi Party has also been found to have links with the scam-sters. The Economic Offence Wing has identified Shiv Sena legislator Baburao Mane among those who may have been aware of the scam. The BJP claims it is looking into the involvement of its members. The Sena has not been as categoric.
But with the interrogation of the accused revealing names of leading lights in the political firmament, the cobbler scam is likely to have a fallout whose repercussions will be felt by all parties, be it the Congress, the BJP or the Shiv Sena.
What treatment was given at the end of the scam?
•Based on the complaints of BMC, the police started investigations. The banks whose officials were involved in this scam are : Maharashtra State Finance Corporation, Citibank, Bank of Oman, Dena Bank, Development Credit Bank, Saraswat Co-operative Bank, and Bank of Bahrain and Kuwait were charge sheeted.
• Officials of Bank of Baroda, Saraswati Co-operative Bank and the Bombay Mercentile Co-operative Bank are also facing charges for fraudulent manipulation of government funds.
• After the inquiry, Dawood, Metro, Milano, Citywalk and a host of other shoe shops were sealed. They opened only after a long battle.
• At present, the shoe scam is in queue of cases waiting to be taken up by the court of the 19th additional chief metropolitan magistrate. All the accused are out on bail.
•Files on the multiple cases of the shoe scam are gathering dust on court shelves.
•The case is still waiting for a trial .
•The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of Mumbai police filed seven charge-sheets against 28 accused in the Rs 1,600-crore cobbler scam at the 37th metropolitan court.
•Apart from Sadruddin Daya, the prime accused in the scam and former sheriff of Mumbai, his wife Shauheen, two international banks and five co-operative banks have also been charge sheeted under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). The charge-sheets were filed before the additional chief metropolitan magistrate, Sharad N Chimade.
Surprisingly, Rafique Tejani of Metro Shoes, Kishore Signapurkar of Milano Shoes and Abu Asim Azmi of Citywalk Shoes have not been charge-sheeted.
EOW officials said the role of the three companies in the scam was still being investigated.
•Others who have been charge-sheeted are: Anwar Merchant, Salim Merchant, Abdul Memon, Bashir Inamdar, M Z Kerawala, V V Chandy, Arshad Wahedna, B.B Trivedi, R Krishnan, D K Sabawala, S Yogeshwaran and R V Bhatt, M GRamakrishnan, V P Khurana, S N Gokhale, T A Khan, Manohar Surve, Siddique, P K Sukhtankar, D J Raikar, N J Ghotage, D NKamath, P P Deshmukh,V N Dalal, J P Shah and SiddharthShirali.
•Special public prosecutor P R Namjoshi told the court that the EOW is preparing 26 sets of the charge-sheets to be given to the accused. He requested the magistrate to grant prosecution six weeks' time to furnish the same. His request was granted.
•The sections of IPC included in the charge-sheets cover criminal conspiracy, forgery, preparing and using duplicated documents for financial benefits, criminal breach of trust, cheating, jumping bail limits, fraudulently setting up fake co-operative societies and making money.
CONCLUSION
India is a country riddled with corruption. The Cobbler Scam cost the government $600 million. The irony is that the money was hijacked from a scheme that should have benefited the poor of Mumbai. Instead it went into the pockets of the wealthy elite. The local government in Mumbai set up a scheme to provide low interest loans and tax concessions to the city's poorest – cobblers who work 16-hour days for less than $2. But not a cent ever got through to the cobblers. Instead various businessmen and politicians built luxury homes, bought luxury cars, boats and art. "For India's poor, the Great Cobbler Scam is just confirmation that fifty years after independence, little has changed." said Dominique Schwartz.
The Cobbler Scam was extensively covered by the Indian media from 1995-2009 writing in detail about the several elites and politicians involved in the scam and the investigations being carried out. This scam had headlined leading newspapers like The Times of India, Hindustan Times, The Indian Express, Business Standard, Mid Day and Outlook, the weekly magazine. It was a case that made front page headlines in 1995, managed to stay there for almost two years — before disappearing. Papers like The Indian Express and Hindustan Times continued to cover the Cobbler Scam and how it was handed over to the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) in the year 2006 and how even almost a decade later the cobbler scam, which involved 40 politicians, bureaucrats and well-known shoe manufacturers in Mumbai is still waiting for a trial.
Times of India had even put forth the grievances of the people impacted by the scam. Indian Express informed how the shoe scam was exposed by three agencies after the BMC filed a complaint about raw materials being brought into the city on a large scale. The media did an excellent job in extensively covering the Cobbler scam and how another Cobbler scam was barred in 2006 where families had got recovery notices for loans taken by complete strangers. Political implications in the 1,000 crore cobbler scam was also elaborately mentioned in the Indian media.
However, though the media high lightened all the aspects of the Cobbler Scam, the trial is yet pending in court and the accused out on bail; hence the media pressure on the Government to take quick action against those on the chargesheet was not as strong as it should have been. The investigation files now continue to gather dust while justice has yet not been delivered after more than a decade.
Former Union minister Suresh Prabhu denies involvement in Adarsh scam
Tuesday, 2 November 2010 - 7:08pm IST | Place: Mumbai | Agency: PTI
Prabhu, a former Shiv Sena MP who is a member of the Adarsh Housing Society, said that he joined the Society as an MP but when the NDA was not in power.
Former Union minister Suresh Prabhu today washed his hands off the Adarsh scam, saying that he never gave any permission for the project during his tenure in the Union cabinet.
"I never gave any permissions for this project during my tenure as the environment minister," Prabhu said from Singapore.
Prabhu, a former Shiv Sena MP who is a member of the Adarsh Housing Society, said that he joined the Society as an MP but when the NDA was not in power.
"So, there is no question of me influencing any allotment," he said.
"I was not the promoter nor the office-bearer of the Society. I borrowed money from a bank and all the documents were verified before granting me loan," he added.
Prabhu said that his application was scrutinised and verified by the Mumbai city collector. "I followed the same procedure which is a normal routine for applying for membership in such societies."
"If any irregularity regarding the land had been brought to my notice, I would never have become a member. If there is indeed any irregularity, I am a victim," he claimed.
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Seema Sapra <seema.sapra@googlemail.com>
Date: Mon, Nov 17, 2014 at 10:44 PM
Subject: Suresh Prabhu's benami companies - further representation to PM Narendra Modi about unsuitability of Suresh Prabhu as Rail Minister from Seema Sapra, General Electric whistle-blower in WP Civil 1280 of 2012, a corruption whistleblower case (Seema Sapra v General Electric Company and Ors.)
To: pmosb <pmosb@gov.in>, Amit Shah <amitshah.bjp@gmail.com>, sanjayjain.chamber@gmail.com, "director@aiims.ac.in" <director@aiims.ac.in>, lggc.delhi@nic.in, "rg.dhc@nic.in" <rg.dhc@nic.in>, Bhim Sain Bassi <cp.bsbassi@nic.in>, joe.kaeser@siemens.com, dch@nic.in, "splcp-vigilance-dl@nic.in" <splcp-vigilance-dl@nic.in>, "splcp-crime-dl@nic.in" <splcp-crime-dl@nic.in>, jtcp-cr-dl@nic.in, "jtcp-nr-dl@nic.in" <jtcp-nr-dl@nic.in>, jtcp-ser-dl@nic.in, jtcp-swr-dl@nic.in, "jtcp-phq-dl@nic.in" <jtcp-phq-dl@nic.in>, jtcp-ga-dl@nic.in, "jtcpt_dtp@nic.in" <jtcpt_dtp@nic.in>, "jtcp-crime-dl@nic.in" <jtcp-crime-dl@nic.in>, jtcp-splcell-dl@nic.in, jtcp-sec-dl@nic.in, "jcpsec@rb.nic.in" <jcpsec@rb.nic.in>, "addlcp-eow-dl@nic.in" <addlcp-eow-dl@nic.in>, jtcp-vigilance-dl@nic.in, jtcp-sb-dl@nic.in, addlcp-crime-dl@nic.in, "addlcpt-dtp@nic.in" <addlcpt-dtp@nic.in>, "addlcp-caw-dl@nic.in" <addlcp-caw-dl@nic.in>, dcp-west-dl@nic.in, addlcp-se-dl@nic.in, "dcp-southwest-dl@nic.in" <dcp-southwest-dl@nic.in>, "dcp-crime-dl@nic.in" <dcp-crime-dl@nic.in>, dcp-eow-dl@nic.in, dcp-splcell-dl@nic.in, dcp-east-dl@nic.in, dcp-northeast-dl@nic.in, "dcp-central-dl@nic.in" <dcp-central-dl@nic.in>, dcp-north-dl@nic.in, dcp-northwest-dl@nic.in, "dcp-south-dl@nic.in" <dcp-south-dl@nic.in>, dcp-outer-dl@nic.in, "dcp-newdelhi-dl@nic.in" <dcp-newdelhi-dl@nic.in>, "dcp-pcr-dl@nic.in" <dcp-pcr-dl@nic.in>, "dcp-southeast-dl@nic.in" <dcp-southeast-dl@nic.in>, dcp-vigilance-dl@nic.in, "sho-tilakmarg-dl@nic.in" <sho-tilakmarg-dl@nic.in>, "sho-tuglakrd-dl@nic.in" <sho-tuglakrd-dl@nic.in>, "addl-dcp2-nd-dl@nic.in" <addl-dcp2-nd-dl@nic.in>, "acp-vivekvhr-dl@nic.in" <acp-vivekvhr-dl@nic.in>, "sho-vivekvhr-dl@nic.in" <sho-vivekvhr-dl@nic.in>, "sho-hndin-dl@nic.in" <sho-hndin-dl@nic.in>, "Madder, Emily" <emily.madder@siemens.com>, "banmali.agrawala@ge.com" <banmali.agrawala@ge.com>, "cmukund@mukundcherukuri.com" <cmukund@mukundcherukuri.com>, rajshekhar rao <rao.rajshekhar@gmail.com>, "vikram@duaassociates.com" <vikram@duaassociates.com>, "sec-jus@gov.in" <sec-jus@gov.in>, "pk.malhotra@nic.in" <pk.malhotra@nic.in>, "ramakrishnan.r@nic.in" <ramakrishnan.r@nic.in>, "jmg.vc@nic.in" <jmg.vc@nic.in>, "cvc@nic.in" <cvc@nic.in>, "hm@nic.in" <hm@nic.in>, "hshso@nic.in" <hshso@nic.in>, "complaintcell-ncw@nic.in" <complaintcell-ncw@nic.in>, "sgnhrc@nic.in" <sgnhrc@nic.in>, "dg-nhrc@nic.in" <dg-nhrc@nic.in>, "newhaven@ic.fbi.gov" <newhaven@ic.fbi.gov>, "ny1@ic.fbi.gov" <ny1@ic.fbi.gov>, "usanys.wpcomp@usdoj.gov" <usanys.wpcomp@usdoj.gov>, "nalin.jain@ge.com" <nalin.jain@ge.com>, "helpline@eda.admin.ch" <helpline@eda.admin.ch>, _EDA-Vertretung-New-Delhi <ndh.vertretung@eda.admin.ch>, _EDA-VISA New-Delhi <ndh.visa@eda.admin.ch>, _EDA-Etat Civil New Delhi <ndh.etatcivil@eda.admin.ch>, "vertretung@ndh.rep.admin.ch" <vertretung@ndh.rep.admin.ch>, "emb@rusembassy.in" <emb@rusembassy.in>, indconru indconru <indconru@gmail.com>, "web.newdelhi@fco.gov.uk" <web.newdelhi@fco.gov.uk>, "conqry.newdelhi@fco.gov.uk" <conqry.newdelhi@fco.gov.uk>, "LegalisationEnquiries@fco.gov.uk" <LegalisationEnquiries@fco.gov.uk>, "delegation-india@eeas.europa.eu" <delegation-india@eeas.europa.eu>, "re-india.commerce@international.gc.ca" <re-india.commerce@international.gc.ca>, "info@new-delhi.diplo.de" <info@new-delhi.diplo.de>, Ambassaden New Delhi <ambassaden.new-delhi@foreign.ministry.se>, "delamb@um.dk" <delamb@um.dk>, "emb.newdelhi@mfa.no" <emb.newdelhi@mfa.no>, "chinaemb_in@mfa.gov.cn" <chinaemb_in@mfa.gov.cn>, "InfoDesk@ohchr.org" <InfoDesk@ohchr.org>, "Press-Info@ohchr.org" <Press-Info@ohchr.org>, "civilsociety@ohchr.org" <civilsociety@ohchr.org>, "nationalinstitutions@ohchr.org" <nationalinstitutions@ohchr.org>, "webmaster@ambafrance-in.org" <webmaster@ambafrance-in.org>, "info_visa_delhi@ambafrance-in.org" <info_visa_delhi@ambafrance-in.org>, "VA@ndh.rep.admin.ch" <VA@ndh.rep.admin.ch>, "indne@unhcr.org" <indne@unhcr.org>, "ambasciata.newdelhi@esteri.it" <ambasciata.newdelhi@esteri.it>, "chinaconsul_kkt@mfa.gov.cn" <chinaconsul_kkt@mfa.gov.cn>, "chinaconsul_mum_in@mfa.gov.cn" <chinaconsul_mum_in@mfa.gov.cn>, "webmaster@mfa.gov.cn" <webmaster@mfa.gov.cn>, "in@mofcom.gov.cn" <in@mofcom.gov.cn>, "sapnachauhan.chauhan192@gmail.com" <sapnachauhan.chauhan192@gmail.com>, "dcbi@cbi.gov.in" <dcbi@cbi.gov.in>, "mr@rb.railnet.gov.in" <mr@rb.railnet.gov.in>, "crb@rb.railnet.gov.in" <crb@rb.railnet.gov.in>, "me@rb.railnet.gov.in" <me@rb.railnet.gov.in>, "mm@rb.railnet.gov.in" <mm@rb.railnet.gov.in>, "ms@rb.railnet.gov.in" <ms@rb.railnet.gov.in>, "secyrb@rb.railnet.gov.in" <secyrb@rb.railnet.gov.in>, "legaladv@rb.railnet.gov.in" <legaladv@rb.railnet.gov.in>, "r_s_chidambaram@cat.com" <r_s_chidambaram@cat.com>, "rathin.basu@alstom.com" <rathin.basu@alstom.com>, "Dimitrief, Alexander (GE, Corporate)" <alexander.dimitrief@ge.com>, "Eglash, Jeffrey C (GE, Corporate)" <jeffrey.eglash@ge.com>, Nanju Ganpathy <nanju.ganpathy@azbpartners.com>, "bradford.berenson@ge.com" <bradford.berenson@ge.com>, "brackett.denniston@ge.com" <brackett.denniston@ge.com>, "jeffrey.immelt@ge.com" <jeffrey.immelt@ge.com>, "john.flannery@ge.com" <john.flannery@ge.com>, "delhihighcourt@nic.in" <delhihighcourt@nic.in>, "pmosb@nic.in" <pmosb@nic.in>, "askdoj@usdoj.gov" <askdoj@usdoj.gov>, "CHAIRMANOFFICE@SEC.GOV" <CHAIRMANOFFICE@sec.gov>, "help@sec.gov" <help@sec.gov>, "fcpa.fraud@usdoj.gov" <fcpa.fraud@usdoj.gov>, "radhakrishnan.k@ge.com" <radhakrishnan.k@ge.com>, "preet.bharara@usdoj.gov" <preet.bharara@usdoj.gov>, "NDwebmail@state.gov" <NDwebmail@state.gov>, "ffetf@usdoj.gov" <ffetf@usdoj.gov>, "fja@federaljudgesassoc.org" <fja@federaljudgesassoc.org>, "supremecourt@nic.in" <supremecourt@nic.in>, "Loretta_A._Preska@nysd.uscourts.gov" <Loretta_A._Preska@nysd.uscourts.gov>, "ombudsperson@corporate.ge.com" <ombudsperson@corporate.ge.com>, Directors@corporate.ge.com, Siemens Ombudsman COM <mail@siemens-ombudsman.com>, compliance.office@bombardier.com, pierre.beaudoin@bombardier.com, william.ainsworth@caterpillar.com, CATshareservices@cat.com, BusinessPractices@cat.com, patrick.kron@alstom.com, keith.carr@alstom.com, Jean-David.barnea@usdoj.gov, reed.brodsky@usdoj.gov, andrew.michaelson@usdoj.gov, ellen.davis@usdoj.gov, eric.glover@usdoj.gov, paul.murphy@usdoj.gov, sandra.glover@usdoj.gov, robert.spector@usdoj.gov, christopher.connolly@usdoj.gov, joseph.cordaro@usdoj.gov, christopher.harwood@usdoj.gov, michael.byars@usdoj.gov, joseph.hogsett@usdoj.gov, stephanie.rose@usdoj.gov, kerry.harvey@usdoj.gov, david.hale@usdoj.gov, stephanie.finley@usdoj.gov, rod.rosenstein@usdoj.gov, carmen.ortiz@usdoj.gov, barbara.mcquade@usdoj.gov, b.todd.jones@usdoj.gov, william.martin@usdoj.gov, richard.callahan@usdoj.gov, beth.phillips@usdoj.gov, michael.cotter@usdoj.gov, deborah.gilg@usdoj.gov, daniel.bogden@usdoj.gov, john.kacavas@usdoj.gov, paul.fishman@usdoj.gov, kenneth.gonzales@usdoj.gov, loretta.lynch@usdoj.gov, richard.hartunian@usdoj.gov, william.hochul@usdoj.gov, john.stone@usdoj.gov, anne.tompkins@usdoj.gov, tim.purdon@usdoj.gov, steve.dettelbach@usdoj.gov, carter.stewart@usdoj.gov, sandy.coats@usdoj.gov, zane.memeger@usdoj.gov, peter.smith@usdoj.gov, david.hickton@usdoj.gov, peter.neronha@usdoj.gov, bill.nettles@usdoj.gov, william.killian@usdoj.gov, jerry.martin@usdoj.gov, edward.stanton@usdoj.gov, jose.moreno@usdoj.gov, carlie.christensen@usdoj.gov, tristram.coffin@usdoj.gov, ronald.sharpe@usdoj.gov, neil.macbride@usdoj.gov, timothy.heaphy@usdoj.gov, bill.ihlenfeld@usdoj.gov, booth.goodwin@usdoj.gov, james.santelle@usdoj.gov, john.vaudreuil@usdoj.gov, christopher.crofts@usdoj.gov, bprao@bhel.in, ajay.sinha@emdiesels.com, armin.bruck@siemens.com, sunil.mathur@siemens.com, benoit.martel@bombardier.com, roland.busch@siemens.com, michael.suess@siemens.com, klaus.helmrich@siemens.com, daniel.desjardins@bombardier.com, james.buda@caterpillar.com, glen.lehman@progressrail.com, alert.procedure@alstom.com, "Warin, F. Joseph" <fwarin@gibsondunn.com>, "Chesley, John" <JChesley@gibsondunn.com>, confidential@sfo.gsi.gov.uk, public.enquiries@sfo.gsi.gov.uk, luis.quesada@ic.fbi.gov, steven.kessler@ic.fbi.gov, henry.gittleman@ic.fbi.gov, renn.cannon@ic.fbi.gov, eric.peterson@ic.fbi.gov, jeff.bedford@ic.fbi.gov, david.brooks@ic.fbi.gov, robert.clifford@ic.fbi.gov, mary.warren@ic.fbi.gov, frank.teixeira@ic.fbi.gov, timothy.langan@ic.fbi.gov, sharon.kuo@ic.fbi.gov, kingman.wong@ic.fbi.gov, daniel.bodony@ic.fbi.gov, christopher.mcmurray@ic.fbi.gov, ralph.hope@ic.fbi.gov, eric.metz@ic.fbi.gov, alejandro.barbeito@ic.fbi.gov, cary.gleicher@ic.fbi.gov, paul.haertel@ic.fbi.gov, greg.cox@ic.fbi.gov, lazaro.andino@ic.fbi.gov, gabriel.ramirez@ic.fbi.gov, tom.sobocinski@ic.fbi.gov, benjamin.walker@ic.fbi.gov, kirk.striebich@ic.fbi.gov, gregory.cox@ic.fbi.gov, katherine.andrews@ic.fbi.gov, carolyn.willson@ic.fbi.gov, mark.nowak@ic.fbi.gov, stuart.wirtz@ic.fbi.gov, lesley.buckler@ic.fbi.gov, daniel.dudzinski@ic.fbi.gov, william.peterson@ic.fbi.gov, connally.brown@ic.fbi.gov, leo.navarette@ic.fbi.gov, lawrence.futa@ic.fbi.gov, gregory.shaffer@ic.fbi.gov, daniel.clegg@ic.fbi.gov, adishaggarwala@yahoo.com, adishaggarwala@hotmail.com, vsondhi@luthra.com, muraritiwari.adv@gmail.com, Priyanka Tyagi <adv.priyankatyagi@gmail.com>, sarlakaushik@yahoo.com, goswamiandassociates@yahoo.co.in, vedbaldev@rediffmail.com, rakeshtikuadvocate@yahoo.com, kkmanan <kkmanan@rediffmail.com>, ars.chauhan.co@gmail.com, Rajiv Khosla <advrajivkhosla@gmail.com>, rakeshkochar@hotmail.com, khatri.surya@hotmail.com, puneet mittal <puneetmittal9@gmail.com>, "advamit.sharma@gmail.com" <advamit.sharma@gmail.com>, Attorneynitin@yahoo.com, Rajesh Mishra <attorney.rmishra@gmail.com>, jaibirnagar@gmail.com, csrhw@csrhw.com.cn, cnriec@chinacnr.com, deepak verma <justicedverma@gmail.com>, dridzu@nic.in, Om Prakash <oplawassociates@gmail.com>, Jatan Singh <jatan_singh@yahoo.com>, Abhijat Bal <abhijat.bal@gmail.com>, asutosh lohia <lasutosh@gmail.com>, Vikram Singh Panwar <vikrampanwar2010@gmail.com>, ashok.bhasin@yahoo.co.in, Aruna Tiku <arunatikuadvocate@yahoo.com>, Sunil Mittal <sunilmittaladvocate@gmail.com>, Meghna Sankhla <meghna@sankhla.in>, Amit Sharma with khosla <advocateas@gmail.com>, Pankaj Kapoor <lawyerpankaj@gmail.com>, "P.H. Parekh" <pravin.parekh@pravinparekh.com>, rakesh.sherawat@yahoo.com, jagdev_advocate@yahoo.com, abhay kumar verma <akvadvocates@gmail.com>, Manan Mishra <manankumarmishra@gmail.com>, ZAFAR AHMED Khan <zakhan52@gmail.com>, anirveda_04@sifymail.com, prabakaran.president.tnaa@gmail.com, vbhatt.adv@gmail.com, faisalrizvi@hotmail.com, advajithts@gmail.com, n_ramchanderrao@yahoo.com, Nilesh Kumar <agrnilesh73@gmail.com>, kunals777@yahoo.com, chairman@ses-surat.org, bhojcthakur@yahoo.com, raj mohan singh tanwar <rmsinghadvocate@gmail.com>, Rohinton Nariman <rohintonnariman@gmail.com>, Satish Abarao Deshmukh <satish.adeshmukh@gmail.com>, info@group30.org, poststelle@sta.berlin.de, public.enquiries@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk, webmaster.greco@coe.int, info@eurojust.europa.eu, poststelle@generalbundesanwalt.de, jthuy@eurojust.europa.eu, ejn@eurojust.europa.eu, collegesecretariat@eurojust.europa.eu, poststelle@bgh.bund.de, secretariat@cepol.europa.eu, CP@ohchr.org, siemens-ombudsmann@rae13.de, mariassy@rae13.de, usgrievance@rb.nic.in, cenvigil@nic.in, sdas@cbi.gov.in, adrkd@cbi.gov.in, jdp@cbi.gov.in, hozeo@cbi.gov.in, hozmdma@cbi.gov.in, hozbpl@cbi.gov.in, hozmum1@cbi.gov.in, hozkol@cbi.gov.in, hozac@cbi.gov.in, hozstf@cbi.gov.in, hozsc@cbi.gov.in, hozbsf@cbi.gov.in, hozpat@cbi.gov.in, hozeo2@cbi.gov.in, jda@cbi.gov.in, jdtfc@cbi.gov.in, hozdel@cbi.gov.in, hozchn@cbi.gov.in, hozhyd@cbi.gov.in, hozne@cbi.gov.in, dop@cbi.gov.in, hobac1del@cbi.gov.in, hobac2del@cbi.gov.in, hobac3del@cbi.gov.in, rajiv.vc@nic.in, rajeev.verma@nic.in, "cp.ggn@hry.nic.in" <cp.ggn@hry.nic.in>, mukul17855@yahoo.com, Ranjit Kumar <sgofficerk@gmail.com>, lnageshwararao@hotmail.com, tusharmehta64@yahoo.com, neerajkishankaul@gmail.com, Narasimha Pamidighantam <psnarasimha@gmail.com>, naqvimukhtar@yahoo.com, cpthakur1@rediffmail.com, Jual Oram <oram.jual@gmail.com>, jualoram@rediffmail.com, SS Ahluwalia <tengrg@gmail.com>, ssa@10grg.com, Balbir Punj <punjbalbir@gmail.com>, bkpunj@gmail.com, maliksatyapal@hotmail.com, prabhatjhabjp@gmail.com, vijaya_999@ymail.com, laxmi_chawla@yahoo.com, Kiran Maheshwari <saikiran.udr@gmail.com>, ananth@ananth.org, "T. C. Gehlot" <mptcgehlot@gmail.com>, mp.tcgehlot@bjp.org, jpnadda@gmail.com, Dharmendra Pradhan <dpdharmendrapradhan@gmail.com>, d.pradhan@sansad.nic.in, Tapir Gao <gaotapir@yahoo.com>, fvg001@gmail.com, Anand Chaudhary <anandchaudhary2009@gmail.com>, rudypr@rediffmail.com, p.muralidharrao@rediffmail.com, ramji.bjp@gmail.com, Satish Velankar <shrivsatish@gmail.com>, saudan.singh@bjp.org, piyush@bjp.org, jshyam48@rediffmail.com, bhupender_advocate@rediffmail.com, Bhupender Yadav <bhupenderyadav69@gmail.com>, "P.K Krishnadas" <krishnadasbjp@gmail.com>, "Dr. Anil Jain" <aniljain.dr@gmail.com>, vinod.pandey@bjp.org, TRIVENDRA SINGH RAWAT <tsrawatbjp@gmail.com>, Rameshwar Chaurasia <rpcnokha@gmail.com>, arti_9@yahoo.co.in, vani_tripathi@yahoo.com, dr.sudhayadav@yahoo.co.in, Sudha Malaiya <malaiyasudha@gmail.com>, Poonam Mahajan R <pmahajanr@gmail.com>, drtamilisai@yahoo.co.in, lois.bjp@gmail.com, Arun Jain <bjparun.jain@gmail.com>, Arun Jain <arun.jain@bjp.org>, bjpinparliament@yahoo.com, "V. Shanmuganathan" <vsnathan7666@gmail.com>, PRAKASH JAVADEKAR <pjavadekar@gmail.com>, shahnawaz@sansad.nic.in, shahnawaz.hussain@bjp.org, Nirmala Sitharaman <nsitharaman@gmail.com>, "Dr. B S Shastri" <dr.bsshastri@gmail.com>, trivedi.sudhanshu@gmail.com, Meenakshi Lekhi <mrs.mlekhi@gmail.com>, Captain Abhimanyu <abhimanyu.bjp@gmail.com>, mjakbar@hotmail.com, president@bjp.org, ajaitley@sansad.nic.in, sushmaswaraj@hotmail.com, fmo@nic.in, cabinet@nic.in, cabinetsy@nic.in, kk manan <kkmananadvocate@gmail.com>, kkmanan@gmail.com, Usama Siddiqui <musiddiqui@gmail.com>, ranarajinder@ymail.com, jawahar@pralaw.in, secy-mci@nic.in, delhimedicalcouncil@gmail.com, sho-civilline-dl@nic.in, sho-kamlamkt-dl@nic.in, sho-gk-dl@nic.in, sho-chandnimahal-dl@nic.in, sho-ptstreet-dl@nic.in, sho-paharganj-dl@nic.in, sho-rkpuram-dl@nic.in, sho-bkroad-dl@nic.in, sho-chanakyapuri-dl@nic.in, sho-vasantvhr-dl@nic.in, sho-vksouth-dl@nic.in, sho-amarclny-dl@nic.in, sho-kmkpur-dl@nic.in, sho-hauzkhas-dl@nic.in, sho-safdarjung-dl@nic.in, sho-malviyangr-dl@nic.in, sho-saket-dl@nic.in, sho-lodhiclny-dl@nic.in, sho-dkuan-dl@nic.in, sho-kalkaji-dl@nic.in, sho-crpark-dl@nic.in, sho-govpuri-dl@nic.in, sho-ipestate-dl@nic.in, sho-mandirmarg-dl@nic.in, sho-kashmirigate-dl@nic.in, sho-rajinderngr-dl@nic.in, sho-karolbagh-dl@nic.in, sho-parsadngr-dl@nic.in, sho-bhrao-dl@nic.in, sho-sadarbazar-dl@nic.in, sho-jamamasjid-dl@nic.in, sho-daryaganj-dl@nic.in, sho-hauzqazi-dl@nic.in, sho-lahorigate-dl@nic.in, sho-anandparvat-dl@nic.in, sho-patelngr-dl@nic.in, sho-ranjitngr-dl@nic.in, sho-dbgrd-dl@nic.in, sho-sarairohilla-dl@nic.in, sho-punjabibagh-dl@nic.in, gurmeharsistani@gmail.com, Rich Verma <rverma@steptoe.com>, jtcp.ggn@hry.nic.in, "dcphq.ggn@hry.nic.in" <dcphq.ggn@hry.nic.in>, "dcp.southggn@hry.nic.in" <dcp.southggn@hry.nic.in>, Mukul Rohatgi <mukul17855@gmail.com>, seclg@nic.in, Senator@mccain.senate.gov, suresh prabhu <spprabhu1@gmail.com>
Cc: Seema Sapra <seema.sapra@gmail.com>, Seema Sapra <seemasapra@hotmail.com>
To the President Pranab Mukherjee, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi,
I am writing with even more shocking information about the unsuitability of Mr Suresh Prabhu as Rail Minister and for any Government of India position.
Even a basic background search about Mr Suresh Prabhu and his family would have shown many red flags in connection with his suitability for a cabinet ministerial post or any government post.
An internet search shows that Suresh Prabhu's son Ameya Prabhu and Suresh Prabhu's wife Uma Prabhu are promoter-directors in several companies whose names indicate operations in the business areas of finance, infrastructure, consultancy and energy. Mr Suresh Prabhu is not a business tycoon. Since 1995/1996, he claims to have been in politics. He has been an MP four times. He was a Chartered Accountant. His wife Uma Prabhu is supposed to be a journalist/ writer.
Then why are his son and wife promoters/ directors in the following companies. These are obviously Suresh Prabhu's benami companies.
SURVALL GLOBAL PROJECTS PRIVATE LIMITED
GREENERGY WIND FARMS PRIVATE LIMITED
YELLOW MAPLE FINANCIAL ADVISORS PRIVATE LIMITED
INDO-AFRICA RESOURCES PRIVATE LIMITED
INFRA POWER CONSULTING PRIVATE LIMITED
ESSAY INFRA RESOURCES PRIVATE LIMITED
GREENERGY PROJECT DEVELOPMENT COMPANY PRIVATE LIMITED
FORESIGHT 2020 PROJECT CONSULTANTS PRIVATE LIMITED
BLUE CRANE HOLDINGS PRIVATE LIMITED
CLEANTECH RENEWABLE ENERGY PRIVATE LIMITED
ENERGY INDIA CORPORATION LIMITED
GREENERGY RENEWABLES PRIVATE LIMITED
MANAV SADHAN VIKAS SUSTAINABLE FOUNDATION
EDUWISE CONSULTANCY PRIVATE LIMITED
DUES BERG BOSSON FINANCIAL SERVICES PRIVATE LIMITED
This confirms that Suresh Prabhu, his wife and son have been involved in some very suspicious business/ financial dealings through these companies.
I also refer to the following statement from Ameya Prabhu's profile as posted on the website of his company Greenergy Renewables.
"He was involved in formulating a relationship with a leading European utility for co-developing a thermal power plant in Maharashtra, India and in tying up the coal linkage for the project".
This statement shows that Ameya Prabhu basically acted as a middleman/ fixer/ broker for this project. He also tied up the coal linkage. Was this part of the coal scam allotments?
Seema Sapra
The information on Suresh Prabhu's benami companies where his wife/son are directors is reproduced below. A copy of Suresh Prabhu's CV is also attached.
SURVALL GLOBAL PROJECTS PRIVATE LIMITED
U40108MH2011PTC214752
No of Views
7
( 0 voters)
SURVALL GLOBAL PROJECTS PRIVATE LIMITED is a private company registered on 14/03/2011. The company has an authorized capital of Rs 50,00,000.00 and paid-up capital of Rs 1,00,000.00.
Its registered office is situated at 809, Dalamal Towers,nariman Point, Free Press Marg,, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India-400021.
The status of company in the records of Registrar is active which means that it is actively doing all its filing with the Registrar.
Company has currently 2 director and falls under the jurisdiction of Registrar of Company-Mumbai.
Incorporation Date
14/03/2011
|
Registering Authority
Registrar of Company-Mumbai
|
Registration Number
214752
|
Listing Type
Unlisted
|
Company Nature
Company limited by shares
|
Company Type
Private
|
Status at Registry
Active
|
Company Sub Category
Indian Non-Government Company
|
Authorized Capital
Rs. 50,00,000.00
|
Paid-up Capital
Rs. 1,00,000.00
|
|
· Edit
| |
Address
|
809, DALAMAL TOWERS,NARIMAN POINT, FREE PRESS MARG,
|
City
|
MUMBAI
|
State
|
Maharashtra
|
Country
|
INDIA
|
Pin
|
400021
|
Email Id
| |
DIN/DPIN/PAN
|
Director Name
|
Appointment Date
|
Designation
| |
AMEYA SURESH PRABHU
|
14/03/2011
|
Director
| ||
UMA SURESH PRABHU
|
21/03/2014
|
Additional Director
| ||
DIN/Director Name
|
Company Name
|
Designation
| ||
Director
| ||||
Director
| ||||
Director
| ||||
Director
| ||||
Director
| ||||
Director
| ||||
Director
| ||||
Director
| ||||
Director
| ||||
Director
| ||||
Director
| ||||
Director
| ||||
Director
| ||||
Director
| ||||
Director
| ||||
Director
| ||||
Director
| ||||
Director
| ||||
Director
| ||||
Director
| ||||
Director
| ||||
On Mon, Nov 17, 2014 at 1:15 PM, Seema Sapra <seema.sapra@googlemail.com> wrote:
To the President Pranab Mukherjee, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi,I am concerned that Mr Suresh Prabhu as the new Railway Minister will assist General Electric Company and Montek Singh Ahluwalia in covering up the corruption, bribes, forgery, fraud, and illegal lobbying involved in the Projects and tenders for the diesel locomotive factory at Marhowra and the electric locomotive factory at Madhepura, which complaints are subjudice before the Delhi High Court in Writ Petition Civil No. 1280/2012 (Seema Sapra v General Electric Company & Others). The PMO, the Railway Ministry, the CVC, the CBI and the Delhi Police Commissioner are the State respondents who have all been issued notice by the Delhi High Court in this matter. General Electric Company, Bombardier, Siemens, Alstom, EMD (a Caterpillar subsidiary) and BHEL are all respondents in this matter who have been issued notice by the Delhi High Court.I remind you of some aspects from Mr Suresh Prabhu's past and recent past.Mr Suresh Prabhu was involved in the multi-crore cobbler scam in Maharahtra in the mid-1990s when he was Chairman of Saraswat Bank.Mr Suresh Prabhu also played a dubious role in the Enron-GE-Dabhol scam when he was Power Minister in the Vajpayee led NDA government. It appears as if Suresh Prabhu's appointment as Power Minister was to facilitate the cover up of the corrupt dealings in the Dabhol Project.Suresh Prabhu benefited from the Adarsh scam as a flat allottee, and with his links to power and politics in Maharashtra, his claim that he was unaware of the illegalities and was a mere "victim" is disingenuous.I attach a copy of Mr Suresh Prabhu's CV. He claims to be active as an entrepreneur in the area of renewable energy. He is therefore bound to have past and ongoing ties to General Electric Company, one of the biggest corporates in the area of energy and renewable energy.Mr Suresh Prabhu is pursuing a PhD at the Freie University in Berlin, which is described on the internet as a CIA funded organization.Mr Suresh P. Prabhu is Chairperson of the Council on Energy, Environment and Water, India.Suresh Prabhu's son Ameya Prabhu is an entrepreneur and investor in energy portfolios and projects. His CV reads like that of a middleman for energy deals.Suresh Prabhu and his son Ameya Prabhu appear to have been jointly working as a lobbying/fixer/facilitator team for corporate interests in the area of renewable energy and water policy and projects in India.Suresh Prabhu and his son Ameya Prabhu must disclose their past and present dealings (including financial dealings) with General Electric Company and its affiliates.Ameya Prabhu's business interests create a clear conflict of interest if Suresh Prabhu handles any energy/ renewable energy related policy/ projects for the Government of India. It is therefore a matter of grave concern that the present government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has appointed Suresh Prabhu as the head of a high-level panel on power revamp — "Advisory Group for Integrated Development of Power, Coal and Renewable Energy."I have earlier complained of conflict of interest concerns regarding Montek Singh Ahluwalia and his son Pawan Ahluwalia. Mr Suresh Prabhu and his son Ameya Prabhu are in the same boat and Mr Suresh Prabhu's recent appointments to positions in the Government of India raise serious concerns of conflict of interest.The Narendra Modi government came to power after an election campaign run on anti-corruption messaging and promises. That is why the appointment of Mr Suresh Prabhu to government positions and to the Railway Ministry despite his conflict of interest and past background of involvement in corruption and its cover-up is very disappointing. I urge Prime Minister Narendra Modi to correct course and to ensure that there is no cover up of the corruption, bribes, forgery, fraud, and illegal lobbying involved in the Projects and tenders for the diesel locomotive factory at Marhowra and the electric locomotive factory at Madhepura, which complaints are subjudice before the Delhi High Court in Writ Petition Civil No. 1280/2012 (Seema Sapra v General Electric Company & Others).I have included below a brief dossier on Mr Suresh Prabhu and his son Ameya Prabhu.I am concerned that Mr Sadanand Gowda was replaced with Suresh Prabhu because the former was hesitant to proceed with the corrutpion-tainted Madhepura and Marhowra projects. Recently in September 2014, the Railways Financial Commissioner in a letter to Mr Gowda (as Rail Minister) had recommended that these Projects be scrapped as such long-term purchase orders with assured off-take were unnecessary and constituted a debt-trap for the Indian Railways.Seema SapraDossier on Suresh PrabhuAmerya Prabhu is the Deputy Managing Director of Greenergy Renewables Private Limited which describes itself as a Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer (IPP) and a Renewable Energy Services Company (RESCO). According to its website, Blue Crane Holdings Pvt. Ltd. (BCH) is the investor in Greenergy Renewables Pvt. Ltd. Ameya Prabhu is the nominee of Blue Crane in Greenergy.Greenergy's website contains the following profile for Ameya Prabhu:"Mr. Ameya Prabhu - Deputy Managing DirectorMr Ameya Prabhu, in his capacity as Deputy Managing Director, is responsible for working closely with the Managing Director to lead the organization towards achievement of its goals. Mr Prabhu is involved extensively in devising a corporate strategy for Greenergy, and in raising funds for the company.Mr Prabhu is a nominee of Blue Crane Holdings on the Board of Directors of Greenergy Renewables. Blue Crane Holdings is a company focused on emerging business opportunities in the water and clean energy sectors. His areas of expertise include: finance, renewable energy, energy efficiency, power, foreign collaborations and partnerships.Mr Prabhu was previously a Director with Energy India Corporation and was involved in developing thermal and wind power projects in South Asia. He was involved in formulating a relationship with a leading European utility for co-developing a thermal power plant in Maharashtra, India and in tying up the coal linkage for the project. His earlier experience includes stints at IL&FS marine transport division, Enam Consultants, DSP Merill Lynch and ICICI Bank.Mr Prabhu holds a Masters in Financial Management from the IE Business School and is a CFA Level II Candidate. He has a B.Sc. in Economics, Politics and International Studies at the University of Warwick."The Blue Crane website at http://www.bluecraneholding.com/index01.htm contains no information about its officers or its investors. The only information on this website is some contact information which reads as under:"Aban House, 3rd floor, Sai Baba Lane(Rope Walk Lane), Behind Rhythm HouseFort, Mumbai 400023 INDIATel : +91-22-4002 5770Fax : +91-22-4002 5778Email: info@bluecraneholding.comWeb : www.bluecraneholding.com"Ameya Prabhu is also shown as a Director in Essay Infra, and the company's website contains the following profile for Suresh Prabhu:"Ameya Prabhu, DirectorWith a Bsc. in Economics, Politics and International Studies from the University of Warwick and a Masters in Financial Management from the IE Business School in Madrid, Spain, he is actually positioned as a CFA Level II Candidate.Previously a Director with Energy India Corporation, Mr. Prabhu was involved in developing thermal and wind power projects in South Asia. He was involved in formulating a relationship with a leading European utility for co-developing a thermal power plant in Maharashtra, India and in tying up the coal linkage for the project. His earlier experience includes stints at IL&FS marine transport division, Enam Consultants, DSP Merill Lynch and ICICI Bank.Mr.Prabhu's areas of expertise include: finance, renewable energy, energy efficiency, power, foreign collaborations and partnerships. Currently he is actively working towards promoting closer integration between companies in India, China and Latin America."Energy India Corporation has no functional website. This is where Ameya Prabhu claims to have worked earlier.ESSAY INFRA RESOURCES PVT. LTD.Corporate Office:201, Sumer Kendra,P.B. Marg, Worli,Mumbai 400093,Maharashtra, India.Tel.: +91 22 - 40963300Fax: +91 22 - 40963300Email: info@essayinfra.comEssay Infra's website describes its business areas in the following terms:"Business AreasSWIFT business, swiftly.Essay Infra has evolved its key areas of focus in synch with the India-development theme. With our focus on Solar Energy, Water, Infrastructure, Finance and Trading, Essay Infra is aligned to make most of the immense potential that lies ahead in the region.We have designed the interplay between our areas of focus and our global partnerships to embed speed and efficiency as we seek to focus on SWIFT in a swift manner."Mr Suresh Prabhu also appeared to own a Finance Company at one time."AMEYA PRABHU FINANCE LIMITEDL65990MH1997PLC106955No of Views8( 0 voters)BriefAMEYA PRABHU FINANCE LIMITED is a listed company registered on 31/03/1997. The company has an authorized capital of Rs 30,00,000.00 and paid-up capital of Rs 25,00,000.00.Its registered office is situated at Unit No 1/2 & 3 Mid Townplaza Shivaji Nagarnear Punjab National Bank, Thane, Maharashtra, India-400604.The status of company in the records of Registrar is strike off which means that it has closed its operations.Company has currently 0 director and falls under the jurisdiction of Registrar of Company-Mumbai.BASIC DETAILSIncorporation Date31/03/1997Registering AuthorityRegistrar of Company-MumbaiRegistration Number106955Listing TypeListedCompany NatureCompany limited by sharesCompany TypePublicStatus at RegistryStrike offCompany Sub CategoryIndian Non-Government CompanyAuthorized CapitalRs. 30,00,000.00Paid-up CapitalRs. 25,00,000.00CONTACT DETAILSEditAddress UNIT NO 1/2 & 3 MID TOWNPLAZA SHIVAJI NAGARNEAR PUNJAB NATIONAL BANKCity THANEState MaharashtraCountry INDIAPin 400604Email Id Not Available"Published: July 2, 2014 01:58 IST | Updated: July 2, 2014 01:58 ISTSuresh Prabhu to head panel on powerSandeep DikshitThe National Democratic Alliance government has appointed the former Cabinet Minister, Suresh Prabhu, as the head of a high-level panel on power revamp — "Advisory Group for Integrated Development of Power, Coal and Renewable Energy."Mr. Prabhu will draw on his experience as the initiator of reforms in the power sector during his tenure as Power Minister in the former NDA government when he had piloted the integrated electricity bill and the law for setting up a regulator, something that current Minister Piyush Goyal wants to do in the coal sector, sources said.Mr. Prabhu will be assisted by three former bureaucrats — Pratyush Sinha, Anil Baijal and Partha Bhattacharya.The former Central Vigilance Commissioner, Pratyush Sinha, was earlier heading a committee overseeing distribution of Central officers of Andhra Pradesh cadre between the two successor States of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh in the previous government.Vast experienceMr. Baijal has extensive experience in the public and private sectors. A former Indian Airlines chief and former Union Home Secretary, he has also been associated with DLF, ITC and Bharti Groups post-retirement.Mr. Bhattacharya is a former Coal India Limited chief who had piloted the country's largest IPO. He was also instrumental in turning around Bharat Coal that was incurring annual losses of Rs. 600 crore.Keywords: Power ministry, Suresh PrabhuNational MAGAZINE | JAN 15, 1997MAHARASHTRABeneficiaries AllPoliticians are implicated in the Rs 1,000-crore cobbler scamCHARUBALA ANNUNCIOTHE boot may well be on the other foot now. While it was former sheriff Sadruddin Daya of Dawood shoes, Rafique Tejani of Metro Shoes and Kishore Signapurkar of Milano Shoes who were held as the prime accused in the Rs 1,000-crore cobbler scam, fresh investigations have revealed the full-fledged compliance of Maharashtra politicians in the fraud.Leaders from all three prominent parties—the Congress, the BJP and the Shiv Sena—appear to have been involved in the diabolical siphoning of public funds under the garb of setting up cooperative societies for poor cobblers.While Congressman Shinde's Chakrayu society flouted rules with impunity, the Sena-BJP's Munde (right) helped by making it easy for Mumbai cooperatives to avail of KVIC subsidies.And in the coming weeks, investigators hope to unearth the names of the political beneficiaries of the embezzlement.Meanwhile, allegations are flying thick and fast. Among the political links being investigated is that of former Maharashtra chief minister, Sharad Pawar. Though there is no direct evidence implicating the Congress leader, investigations have revealed Tejani to be a director of the Rs 500-crore Dynamix Dairy Products Pvt Ltd in which Pawar is believed to have a stake through the holdings of family members. According to sources, the sole milk supplier to Dynamix, the Baramati Milk Cooperative, is controlled by Pawar. Sources hint that a good amount of the money from the shoe scam may have been diverted to Dynamix. However, the Pawar link still remains tenuous.What is not tenuous, however, is that it was during Pawar's regime that Congressmen had a field day. It was at this time thistimethat Sushil Kumar Shinde, chief of the Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC), floated the Chakrayu society which flouted every rule in the book. It dealt in machine-made goods against the mandatory rule of handcrafted leatherwear. So while the project report guaranteed employment to 2,000 cobblers, only about 50 were actually employed. Further, the rules say that 10 per cent of the total funds should be contributed by members of the society; 60 per cent should come from financial institutions and the state government should loan the remaining 30 per cent. However, according to the Accountant General's report, member contribution to the Rs 133-lakh Chakrayu project was just Rs 4.75 lakh. Of this, Rs 4.25 lakh was contributed by 200 members who were shown as "people of repute". Investigations reveal that they included Kripashankar, vice-president, MPCC and Ramdas Phutane, a Congress MLC, among others.With the cobblers being too poor to contribute even the token Rs 100 to join cooperatives, it is usually the Mahatma Phule Vikas Mahamandal which pays their membership fee. However, in the case of Chakrayu, the Mahamandal refused to give the funds. In 1992, Shinde, then state finance minister, got the government to sanction Rs 44.5 lakh for the society in three instalments. In a further flouting of rules, Shinde got the Maharashtra State Finance Corporation to sanction Rs 60 lakh.Once Chakrayu was formed, the cobblers' interests were given a back seat, say sources. Normally, every member of a cooperative society has equal voting rights, but Chakrayu modified the rule—only members with a contribution of Rs 1,000 or more were entitled to vote. This virtually alienated the cobbler members of the society.The Congress involvement has given enough ammunition to the BJP and the Shiv Sena against the previous regime, although both parties cannot deny the involvement of some of their own members. For the moment, however, it is Pawar and his partymen who are being accused of turning a blind eye to the looting of public money. Points out Kirit Somaiya, MLA and Mumbai city president of the BJP: "The previous government cannot be absolved of the responsibility of letting such activity flourish for over 10 years." Nor does that absolve the Shiv Sena-BJP government. The present deputy chief minister, Gopinath Munde, who held the finance portfolio for about three months and presented the '96-'97 budget, is also under the cloud of suspicion. Mrs Maharuk Keravala, a friend of Tejani's wife and a prime suspect in the scam, has alleged that she, along with BJP MLA Sadashiv Lokh-ande and others, approached Munde to help them out. Munde obliged by raising the sales tax exemption limit to Rs 50 lakh and doing away with the need for societies to get a certifi-cation from the Khadi Village Industries Commission (KVIC). The KVIC had laid down in 1987 that only societies located in villages were entitled to benefits from it. By doing away with the need for certification, Munde made it possible for cooperatives located in Mumbai to enjoy the bene-fits of KVIC subsidies.As investigations continue, lesser known politicians are also being pulled into the net. Money to prime accused Sadruddin Daya was sanctioned by the chairman of Saraswat Cooperative Bank, Suresh Prabhu, who is now a Shiv Sena MP. Bomb blast accused Abu Azmi of the Samajwadi Party has also been found to have links with the scam-sters. The Economic Offence Wing has identified Shiv Sena legislator Baburao Mane among those who may have been aware of the scam.The BJP claims it is looking into the involvement of its members. The Sena has not been as categoric. But with the interrogation of the accused revealing names of leading lights in the political firmament, the cobbler scam is likely to have a fallout whose repercussions will be felt by all parties, be it the Congress, the BJP or the Shiv Sena.The Great Indian Cobbler Scam24APRSo, in my 5th semester I had to make a project and presentation on 'The Cobbler Scam' and while doing all my online research on this topic I realized there wasn't a wikipedia page dedicated to this scam so I thought I'd post my project on my blog for anyone who'd be interested in knowing more about it.Many of the details are going to shock you and for people who've never even heard about this scam,you might even find it amusing,initially. Most people haven't heard about the Great Indian Cobbler Scam because it happened only in Mumbai and was exposed in 1995 and ever since there have been SEVERAL scams that have been unearthed which were way bigger and significant than this one. Nevertheless, this scam involved a lot of money and many banks and prominent people as well. And we need to be aware of how rampant corruption in India is in every single field. No wonder India can be aptly called 'The land of Scams'.So here it is, The Great Indian Cobbler ScamImageThe Cobbler Scam is one of the biggest multi million dollars scam in Indian History, is nicknamed The Great Cobbler Scam. What really happened in this Great Cobbler Scam was that various businessman & politicians had siphoned around $600 million US dollars from a scheme that was floated by the Government of India meant to benefit the poor cobblers of Mumbai. Instead, it went into the pockets of the elites who used this money to built luxury homes for themselves and also brought luxury cars, boats, arts, etc. The money of the scheme was meant to provide low interest loans and tax concessions to the Mumbai's poorest – cobblers who work 16-hours a day for less than $2. Not a single penny reached these cobblers.The modus operandi of the mastermind was to float a cooperative society of cobblers to avail of soft government loans through various schemes. Several bogus societies of cobblers were formed only for the purpose of availing these soft government loans. The main heads Daya of Dawood Shoes, Rafique Tejani of Metro Shoes and Kishore Signapurkar of Milano Shoes created fictitious cooperative societies for cobblers. On behalf of these non existing cooperative societies they availed loans of crores of rupees from different banks. The accused created a fictitious cooperative society of cobblers to take advantage of government loans through various schemes. The banks involved in giving loans were also charge sheeted.The primary accused in the multi-crore shoe scam is Sohin Daya, son of former Sheriff of Mumbai. The people involved in this racket were Saddrudin Daya, former sheriff of Mumbai and owner of Dawood Shoes, Rafique Tejani, owner of Metro Shoes, Kishore Signapurkar, proprietor of Milano Shoes, and Abu Asim Azmi, president of Samajwadi Party's Mumbai unit and partner in Citywalk Shoes. Beside them various officials of banks and financial institutions were also involved in this multi million dollars scam.The Banks whose officials were involved in this scam are: Maharashtra State Finance Corporation, Citibank, Bank of Oman, Dena Bank, Development Credit Bank, Saraswat Co-operative Bank, and Bank of Bahrain and Kuwait.This scam cost the Government of India around $600 million US dollars. This was one of the worst scam in India that cheated the poorest people of the society and benefited a lot of rich and elite people. This is one of the reasons why poverty in India is difficult to eliminate. The scam was exposed in 1995.HOW THE SCAM UNEARTHED:The following is an article by the Express News Service on how the Cobbler Scam was exposed:VIGILANT AGENCIES EXPOSED SHOE SCAMExpress News ServiceMUMBAI, June 1: The unearthing of the Rs 1600-crore cobbler's scam that closed in on bigwigs of the shoe industry was expected, caused as it was by three agencies working towards its exposure.Officials of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation's octroi department had lodged complaints about raw materials being brought into the city on a large scale. These materials had octroi concessions as they were brought in lieu of the cooperative societies. On the basis of the complaints, the police carried out its own investigations, and a diligent officer in the office of the Registrar of Cooperative Societies decided to do a complete survey of registered societies in Mumbai.Immediately after taking charge in 1995, Sudhir Thakre, the joint registrar of the Cooperative Society for Mumbai division, ordered a survey of the registered societies. "Our officers, especially auditors of each of these societies complained that most of these societies did not exist at the registered addresses furnished to this office," Thakre said in an exclusive interview to Express Newsline, narrating the process of investigation into the big business' way to success through fictitious cobbler societies.Thakre decided to survey all the societies that had been formed. "Normally, since most of the cobblers were poor and illiterate, we did not like to harass them with too much inspection. "This leniency on the registrar's part was misused by the businessmen," he admitted.The BMC, meanwhile, complained to the police about huge consignments of raw materials (used for the purpose of shoe-making) being brought into Mumbai. Worth around two crores, these materials obtained octroi concessions. The police started making their own investigations, and both the agencies got suspicious when "all the cobblers' societies were found missing."A clearer picture emerged by January 1996 when flying squads with the registrar were given specific orders to follow a society to its very last. A report on prima facie evidence was made for the police by March 1996."My boys worked for five months, sometimes without the societies themselves realising it, and by August 1996, we got the complete picture," he said.DCP Sanjay Pandey, who had taken over the Economic Offences Wing then approached him asking for details, since he too was working on the case. "By September 9, a report of 80 to 90 pages was ready for the police. "Till then, we had completed 19 raids and 51 societies were being investigated." The rest, as they say, is history.Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.People Affected by the Scam•The poor Cobblers of Mumbai are the one who are majorly affected by the Scam as they were not benefited by a single rupee of the Scheme which was meant only for them.•Government of India was also affected by the Scam as the scam cost the Government around 1200 crores Indian rupees.•The Banks whose officials were involved in the scam like Maharashtra State Finance Corporation, Citibank, Bank of Oman, Dena Bank, Development Credit Bank, Saraswat Co-operative Bank, and Bank of Bahrain and Kuwait, spoiled their reputation.•Politicians, bureaucrats and top shoe manufacturers in Maharashtra were also affected as the Shoes manufacturers have to shut their shoe outlets and their business was lost.Politicians Implicated in the ScamThe boot may well be on the other foot now. While it was former sheriff Sadruddin Daya of Dawood shoes, Rafique Tejani of Metro Shoes and Kishore Signapurkar of Milano Shoes who were held as the prime accused in the Rs 1,000-crore cobbler scam, fresh investigations have revealed the full-fledged compliance of Maharashtra politicians in the fraud.Leaders from all three prominent parties the Congress, the BJP and the Shiv Sena appear to have been involved in the diabolical siphoning of public funds under the garb of setting up cooperative societies for poor cobblers. Meanwhile, allegations are flying thick and fast. Among the political links being investigated is that of former Maharashtra chief minister, Sharad Pawar. Though there is no direct evidence implicating the Congress leader, investigations have revealed Tejani to be a director of the Rs500-crore Dynamix Dairy Products Pvt Ltd in which Pawar is believed to have a stake through the holdings of family members. According to sources, the sole milk supplier to Dynamix, the Baramati Milk Cooperative, is controlled by Pawar. Sources hint that a good amount of themoney from the shoe scam may have been diverted to Dynamix. However, the Pawar link still remains tenuous. What is not tenuous, however, is that it was during Pawar's regime that Congressmen had a field day. It was at this time that Sushil Kumar Shinde, chief of the Maharashtra Pradesh CongressCommittee (MPCC), floated the Chakrayu society which flouted every rule in the book. It dealt in machine-made goods against the mandatory rule of handcrafted leatherwear. So while the project report guaranteed employment to 2,000 cobblers, only about 50 were actually employed.Further, the rules say that 10 per cent of the total funds should be contributed by members of the society; 60 per cent should come from financial institutions and the state government should loan the remaining 30 per cent. However, according to the Accountant General's report, member contribution to the Rs 133-lakh Chakrayu project was just Rs 4.75 lakh. Of this, Rs 4.25 lakh was contributed by 200 members who were shown as "people of repute". Investigations reveal that they included Kripashankar, vice-president, MPCC and Ramdas Phutane, a Congress MLC,among others.With the cobblers being too poor to contribute even the token Rs 100 to join cooperatives, it is usually the Mahatma Phule Vikas Mahamandal which pays their membership fee. However, in the case of Chakrayu, the Mahamandal refused to give the funds. In 1992, Shinde, then state finance minister, got the government to sanction Rs 44.5 lakh for the society in three instalments. In a further flouting of rules, Shinde got the Maharashtra State Finance Corporation to sanction Rs 60 lakh. Once Chakrayu was formed, the cobblers' interests were given a back seat, say sources. Normally, every member of a cooperative society has equal voting rights, but Chakrayu modified the rule only members with a contribution of Rs 1,000 or more were entitled to vote. This virtually alienated the cobbler members of the society. The Congress involvement has given enough ammunition to the BJP and the Shiv Sena against the previous regime, although both parties cannot deny the involvement of some of their own members.For the moment, however, it is Pawar and his party men who are being accused of turning a blind eye to the looting of public money. Points out Kirit Somaiya, MLA and Mumbai city president of the BJP: "The previous government cannot be absolved of the responsibility of letting such activity flourish for over 10 years." Nor does that absolve the Shiv Sena-BJP government. The present deputy chief minister, Gopinath Munde, who held the finance portfolio for about three months and presented the '96-'97 budget, is also under the cloud of suspicion. Mrs.Maharuk Keravala, a friend of Tejani's wife and a prime suspect in the scam, has alleged that she, along with BJP MLA Sadashiv Lokh-ande and others, approached Munde to help them out. Munde obliged by raising the sales tax exemption limit to Rs 50 lakh and doing away with the need for societies to get a certification from the Khadi Village Industries Commission (KVIC).The KVIC had laid down in 1987 that only societies located in villages were entitled to benefits from it. By doing away with the need for certification, Munde made it possible for cooperatives located in Mumbai to enjoy the benefits of KVIC subsidies. As investigations continue, lesser known politicians are also being pulled into the net. Money to prime accused Sadruddin Daya was sanctioned by the chairman of Saraswat Cooperative Bank, Suresh Prabhu, who is now a Shiv Sena MP. Bomb blast accused Abu Azmi of the Samajwadi Party has also been found to have links with the scam-sters. The Economic Offence Wing has identified Shiv Sena legislator Baburao Mane among those who may have been aware of the scam. The BJP claims it is looking into the involvement of its members. The Sena has not been as categoric.But with the interrogation of the accused revealing names of leading lights in the political firmament, the cobbler scam is likely to have a fallout whose repercussions will be felt by all parties, be it the Congress, the BJP or the Shiv Sena.What treatment was given at the end of the scam?•Based on the complaints of BMC, the police started investigations. The banks whose officials were involved in this scam are : Maharashtra State Finance Corporation, Citibank, Bank of Oman, Dena Bank, Development Credit Bank, Saraswat Co-operative Bank, and Bank of Bahrain and Kuwait were charge sheeted.• Officials of Bank of Baroda, Saraswati Co-operative Bank and the Bombay Mercentile Co-operative Bank are also facing charges for fraudulent manipulation of government funds.• After the inquiry, Dawood, Metro, Milano, Citywalk and a host of other shoe shops were sealed. They opened only after a long battle.• At present, the shoe scam is in queue of cases waiting to be taken up by the court of the 19th additional chief metropolitan magistrate. All the accused are out on bail.•Files on the multiple cases of the shoe scam are gathering dust on court shelves.•The case is still waiting for a trial .•The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of Mumbai police filed seven charge-sheets against 28 accused in the Rs 1,600-crore cobbler scam at the 37th metropolitan court.•Apart from Sadruddin Daya, the prime accused in the scam and former sheriff of Mumbai, his wife Shauheen, two international banks and five co-operative banks have also been charge sheeted under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). The charge-sheets were filed before the additional chief metropolitan magistrate, Sharad N Chimade.Surprisingly, Rafique Tejani of Metro Shoes, Kishore Signapurkar of Milano Shoes and Abu Asim Azmi of Citywalk Shoes have not been charge-sheeted.EOW officials said the role of the three companies in the scam was still being investigated.•Others who have been charge-sheeted are: Anwar Merchant, Salim Merchant, Abdul Memon, Bashir Inamdar, M Z Kerawala, V V Chandy, Arshad Wahedna, B.B Trivedi, R Krishnan, D K Sabawala, S Yogeshwaran and R V Bhatt, M GRamakrishnan, V P Khurana, S N Gokhale, T A Khan, Manohar Surve, Siddique, P K Sukhtankar, D J Raikar, N J Ghotage, D NKamath, P P Deshmukh,V N Dalal, J P Shah and SiddharthShirali.•Special public prosecutor P R Namjoshi told the court that the EOW is preparing 26 sets of the charge-sheets to be given to the accused. He requested the magistrate to grant prosecution six weeks' time to furnish the same. His request was granted.•The sections of IPC included in the charge-sheets cover criminal conspiracy, forgery, preparing and using duplicated documents for financial benefits, criminal breach of trust, cheating, jumping bail limits, fraudulently setting up fake co-operative societies and making money.CONCLUSIONIndia is a country riddled with corruption. The Cobbler Scam cost the government $600 million. The irony is that the money was hijacked from a scheme that should have benefited the poor of Mumbai. Instead it went into the pockets of the wealthy elite. The local government in Mumbai set up a scheme to provide low interest loans and tax concessions to the city's poorest – cobblers who work 16-hour days for less than $2. But not a cent ever got through to the cobblers. Instead various businessmen and politicians built luxury homes, bought luxury cars, boats and art. "For India's poor, the Great Cobbler Scam is just confirmation that fifty years after independence, little has changed." said Dominique Schwartz.The Cobbler Scam was extensively covered by the Indian media from 1995-2009 writing in detail about the several elites and politicians involved in the scam and the investigations being carried out. This scam had headlined leading newspapers like The Times of India, Hindustan Times, The Indian Express, Business Standard, Mid Day and Outlook, the weekly magazine. It was a case that made front page headlines in 1995, managed to stay there for almost two years — before disappearing. Papers like The Indian Express and Hindustan Times continued to cover the Cobbler Scam and how it was handed over to the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) in the year 2006 and how even almost a decade later the cobbler scam, which involved 40 politicians, bureaucrats and well-known shoe manufacturers in Mumbai is still waiting for a trial.Times of India had even put forth the grievances of the people impacted by the scam. Indian Express informed how the shoe scam was exposed by three agencies after the BMC filed a complaint about raw materials being brought into the city on a large scale. The media did an excellent job in extensively covering the Cobbler scam and how another Cobbler scam was barred in 2006 where families had got recovery notices for loans taken by complete strangers. Political implications in the 1,000 crore cobbler scam was also elaborately mentioned in the Indian media.However, though the media high lightened all the aspects of the Cobbler Scam, the trial is yet pending in court and the accused out on bail; hence the media pressure on the Government to take quick action against those on the chargesheet was not as strong as it should have been. The investigation files now continue to gather dust while justice has yet not been delivered after more than a decade.Former Union minister Suresh Prabhu denies involvement in Adarsh scamTuesday, 2 November 2010 - 7:08pm IST | Place: Mumbai | Agency: PTIPrabhu, a former Shiv Sena MP who is a member of the Adarsh Housing Society, said that he joined the Society as an MP but when the NDA was not in power.Former Union minister Suresh Prabhu today washed his hands off the Adarsh scam, saying that he never gave any permission for the project during his tenure in the Union cabinet."I never gave any permissions for this project during my tenure as the environment minister," Prabhu said from Singapore.Prabhu, a former Shiv Sena MP who is a member of the Adarsh Housing Society, said that he joined the Society as an MP but when the NDA was not in power."So, there is no question of me influencing any allotment," he said."I was not the promoter nor the office-bearer of the Society. I borrowed money from a bank and all the documents were verified before granting me loan," he added.Prabhu said that his application was scrutinised and verified by the Mumbai city collector. "I followed the same procedure which is a normal routine for applying for membership in such societies.""If any irregularity regarding the land had been brought to my notice, I would never have become a member. If there is indeed any irregularity, I am a victim," he claimed.
Dear Article writer this gov is a crony capitalist supporting gov :) this is a good attempt by you to expose these people but alas no one will take this seriously because it will hurt party image and expose them for who they really are :)
ReplyDeletena khaunga na khane dunga