The agency has taken over the probe after Gauhati High Court on September 2, after it was revealed that the probe by Assam Criminal Investigation Department was slow and purportedly trying to shield the accused.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has registered an FIR in the Louis Berger bribery case for projects taken up by US company in Guwahati and Goa.
The agency has taken over the probe after Gauhati High Court on September 2, after it was revealed that the probe by Assam Criminal Investigation Department was slow and purportedly trying to shield the accused.
The agency registered a case criminal conspiracy, criminal breach of trust, cheating and criminal misconduct against unknown officials and public servants Guwahati Metropolitan Development Authority, government functionaries, unknown officials of Louis Berger and others.
The High Court had stated, "It is crystal clear that the investigating agency (CID) has not investigated the case in the right earnest and has been conducting the same in a partisan manner. The mystery of such allegations involving misappropriation of enormous public money must not haunt the people of the state indefinitely and must come to a logical end at the earliest."
The CID had registered a case following media reports published in July 2015 that US department of justice under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) found two former executives of Louis Berger, a New Jersey-based consultancy firm, plead guilty to participating in the bribery scheme in India.
James McClung, 59, senior vice president responsible for the company's operations in India, pleaded guilty of government officials. McClung told a US court their consortium partners had paid bribes worth $976,6630 to unnamed "officials" in the Assam and Goa governments to get water management consultancy projects. The water projects were funded by Japan International Cooperation Agency and the state government hired international consultants for them. In the statement before the court, the executive disclosed that bribe money was paid to a minister.
"On or about August 17, 2010, a consortium partner sent an e-mail to James McClung, stating, 'As discussed I enclose the details as provided by [third-party intermediary]. I have also added the details of amounts paid to [the Company] as of date by [the consortium partner] in the same sheet.' The attachment included an entry, 'Paid by [an agent of the Company] to Minister on behalf of agent'," the FIR states the Federal Bureau of Investigation statement before the court.
Interestingly, then the BJP government in Goa ordered its crime branch to file an FIR against unknown ministers in the former Congress government on the basis of the allegations. Also in 2015, the then Congress government in Assam came under political pressure BJP to act on the allegations.
COURT DIKTAT
CBI took over the probe after the court found that the Assam Criminal Investigation Department was slow and was purportedly trying to shield the accused in the case.
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