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Oil-for-food scam: ED issues notices to Natwar Singh, 4 others

Enforcement Directorate has served notice to Former External Affairs Minister Natwar Singh, his son Jagat Singh and others.

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NEW DELHI: Nearly a month after Pathak authority indicted former External Affairs Minister Natwar Singh and his son Jagat in Iraqi oil-for-food scam, Enforcement Directorate has issued show cause notices to them and four others for alleged violation of Foreign Exchange Management Authority (FEMA) Act in the scam.

 

Capping its 10-month probe into alleged kick-back to Indian entities in the oil-for-food scam which took ED sleuths to Iraq, Jordan, London and the US, ED, served the notices to Natwar, his son Jagat, family friend Andaleep Sehghal, Aditya Khanna, a kin of Natwar, Asad Khan, son of a senior Congress leader and Andaleeb-owned Hamdan Exports Limited.

 

They have been asked to reply to the notices by September 14, official sources said.

 

Those served the showcause notice have been allegedly abetting violations under Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA). Under FEMA, abetment is construed as violation of the Act.

 

The notice was delivered by ED to Singh and Jagat at his residence in Delhi late last night while he was away in Rajasthan visiting his constituency.

 

While the Pathak Authority has not been able to trace any money transactions to either Natwar or his son, ED sources claimed the money trail allegedly led to Jagat Singh and it has been managed to get hold of documents from London and Jordan in this connenction.

 

Jagat has always denied that he has received any payment in the deals.

 

Natwar was supended from Congress on August eight, a day after the Pathak authority was tabled in Parliament. Soon afterwards, Jagan too was suspended.

 

Singh, who was questioned by ED in February this year after the agency had received a fresh set of bank documents from Iraq and Jordan in the oil-for-food scam investigated by the UN's Volcker Committee report, has been accused by ED of having misused his position in facilitating Andaleep his kin Aditya to lift oil from Iraq under the food-for-oil programme.

 

Natwar, Chairman of Congress Foreign Policy Cell in 2001 when the oil scam took place, had given letters of introduction for Sehgal on the party letterhead addressed to the Iraqi oil ministry.  He had also led a Congress delegation to Baghdad in which Jagat was also present.

 

As per the Pathak authority, Aditya Khanna and Jagat's friend, Andaleeb Sehgal, received commissions amounting to USD 1,46,000 from foreign companies to whom they sold their oil coupons given by the Saddam Hussain regime in 2001.

 

Asad Khan had also allegedly gone with Jagat and Andaleep in the later stages of the deal.

 

The ED had been investigating the Indian angle of Iraq's oil-for-food scam with the ousted Saddam Hussein regime in Iraq in the oil-for-food programme under the aegis of the UN between 1996 and 2003 as brought out by Volcker Committee and questioned several people including Natwar, Jagat, Sehgal and Aneil Matherani, India's former envoy to Croatia, several times.

 

Those served the showcause notices would file their reply before it goes for the civil adjudication.

 

Matherani, who was part of the four-member delegation headed by Natwar to Baghdad, has been exonerated of any wrong doing by Justice Pathak as also by Enforcement Directorate.

 

Natwar calls serving of notices as unfortunate

 

Terming as "unfortunate" the showcause notices served on him and his son by Enforcement Directorate in the Iraqi oil-for-food scam, Former External Affairs Minister Natwar Singh said his lawyers would give befitting reply to the department.

 

"This is very unfortunate state of affairs that a Department of Central Government is harassing and trying to defame me," Singh said.

 

Singh, who has been suspended from Congress Party, said that he had not seen the notice so far but "my lawyers have told me that ED has served notice for its probe in the oil-for-food scam."

 

"This is very unfortunate that even after nine months of probe by the Pathak probe panel, I was given a clean chit and the probe authority made it clear that there were no financial irregularities or personal financial gain to me.

 

"This move of the ED has surprised me and I can only say that they (ED) are trying to justify there 10-11 months work though they have found nothing against me," he said.

 

He said it was a "sorry state of affair" in the country that a particular department of the Central Government was going overboard in "harassing and defaming me."

 

Asked whether he was intending to file any defamation case against the ED as reported by some section of media, Singh said "everyone is saying what they want. Even media is doing so. No one has contacted me and why should I file a defamation suit. My lawyers will examine the whole issue and then reply to the ED."

 

Singh and others are believed to be filing reply to the ED notices by September 14.

 

The former External Affairs Minister said he would be returning to the national capital soon after his thanks giving to the people of his constituency who had organised a massive rally in his support.

 

Later, at a hurriedly-called press conference in Jaipur, Singh said the ED's move would not malign his image.

 

"The showcause notice will not tarnish my image. I came into the world unblemished and will depart unblemished," he said.

 

"Those who dream of defaming me will not be successful in their designs," Singh said.

 

Asked whether he intended to file a defamation case against the ED, he said "after reading the notice, I will discuss the matter with my lawyer."

 

Asked if the notice was served on him at the behest of the Union Finance Minister, he said "ED comes under the Finance Minister. I will not name anybody. But, without FM's approval, ED cannot serve the notice."

 

After spending a huge amount of money on the Pathak Commission, Singh said "it gave a clean chit to me and my son saying no money was involved. What else do you expect then?"

 

On his political plans, he said "I am a Rajya Sabha MP. I am raising crucial issues in Parliament and will continue to do so."

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