Widening its probe in the corporate espionage scandal, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Friday searched the premises of another chartered accountant firm and a law firm in Mumbai for allegedly acting as intermediaries to pass on sensitive information from government officials to corporate houses.
Widening its probe in the corporate espionage scandal, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Friday searched the premises of another chartered accountant firm and a law firm in Mumbai for allegedly acting as intermediaries to pass on sensitive information from government officials to corporate houses.
Wich law forms have been raided? "As follow-up to the case of leakage of confidential government documents, CBI is conducting further searches at two locations in Mumbai. This includes law firm Chitale & Associates and CA firm Mitesh J Majithia,” said a CBI source on the condition of anonymity.
What have the sleuths recovered so far? “So far, copies of government files and notings have been recovered. Search operations are underway," added sources."The agency seized documents related to proposals before the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB), but the names of the companies he favoured are not being disclosed," said a source.
Did corporate entities gain from the leaks?
According to PTI reports, companies that came under the scanner for allegedly benefiting from the documents included HDFC Bank, IndusInd Bank, DLF, Glenmark Pharmaceuticals and Novalead Pharmaceuticals.Strongly denying any involvement, HDFC said in a statement, "These allegations, apart from being baseless and untrue, are defamatory and an attempt to malign the reputation of the bank.” IndusInd Bank, too, denied any involvement. “We strongly deny that this episode has anything to do with IndusInd Bank,” it said in a statement.
When was the confidential file recovered?
Sources said the agency was tracking the government officials and the chartered accountant named earlier for two years. On Thursday, it intercepted a courier in Mumbai, following which a confidential file was recovered. The courier was allegedly sent by Ashok Kumar Singh to the arrested accountant Khemchand Gandhi.
Sale of the policy documents helped the alleged beneficiary companies prepare for the implementation of various foreign investment policies and foreign direct investment proposals, sources added.
Where are the arrested accused now?
On Thursday, the investigators arrested two finance ministry officials and Gandhi. On Friday, Gandhi was produced in a special CBI court and remanded in custody for three days. The two arrested officials of the finance ministry were sent in police custody for five days.During Gandhi's hearing, CBI clearly indicated that more government officers would be detained for questioning. It also told the court that there are large transactions of money from Gandhi's account to the accounts of a few officers, which has to be investigated.
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