Dubai-based non-resident Indian, Puthankote Vadakeveetil Aboobacker, has strongly denied allegations that he is involved in illegal commodity trading in India.
MUMBAI: Dubai-based non-resident Indian, Puthankote Vadakeveetil Aboobacker, has strongly denied allegations that he is involved in illegal commodity trading (“dabba trading”) in India through two companies, Remount Investment and Kerford Investment. He says he has no link with either of the two companies.
The allegations were levelled by BJP’s Maharashtra legislative council member Vinod Tawde, who has also filed complaints with the Forward Markets Commission (FMC), the commodities regulator (DNA Money, May 24).
Among other things, Tawde claimed that Aboobacker had opened 100 offices in India through Reymount Commodities, which is a member of the Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) and the National Commodities and Derivatives Exchange (NCDEX). Reymount Commodities allegedly provided the cover for selling the services of foreign exchanges, with customers being provided with terminals for trading forward contracts in gold, silver, copper and crude. Under the Forward Contracts (Regulation) Act, 1952, foreign commodity exchanges cannot operate in India.
Aboobacker is categorical that he has no connection with either of the two companies that are allegedly conducting illegal trading in India. “It is absolutely unwarranted for anyone to link me with these two companies. In fact, I have no stakes in these companies. I am surprised at these allegations linking me with these two companies,” says an angry Aboobacker.
As for Reymount Commodities, which has membership of two commodity exchanges in India, Aboobacker says he is not involved. These are run by his brothers, PV Faisal and PV Shamsuddin. An NCDEX official seemed to back Aboobacker: “Reymount Commodities Pvt Ltd is an Indian company incorporated under the Indian Companies Act, 1956, and hence not a foreign company. Aboobacker is neither a shareholder nor a director in Reymount Commodities Pvt Ltd,” says the official.
Aboobacker also flatly denies he has anything to do with Cosmo Trade Pvt Ltd, another company accused by Tawde of soliciting clients for foreign exchanges.
Aboobacker says that he was interested in setting up a commodity exchange some years ago, but that is a different story.
“We constituted a team of experts in India to establish a commodity exchange, who travelled across the country and interacted with governmental and non-governmental agencies. Finally, after having enough of brainstorming sessions, we could bring out a proper business plan for our dream project and christened it “Indian Mercantile Exchange”.
I approached the market regulator, FMC, for the first time in early 2005. Top officials of the commission encouraged me by providing all necessary guidance to establish an exchange. But, due to my personal commitments abroad, I had to be away for a long period. Meanwhile, numerous stories were cooked up and flooded in the market about my companies abroad. My name is unnecessarily (being) dragged into a controversy,” says Aboobacker.
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