New Delhi: Congress party took a dig at the Union Government by alleging that they are importing goods and services of economic fugitives who are entangled in cases under the Enforcement Directorate. Congress spokesperson Gourav Vallabh was addressing a press conference here on Monday.
Sterling Biotech and its promoters, the Sandesara brothers (fugitives) were alleged of siphoning off loans of government banks worth Rs 15,000 crore in October 2017. Vallabh also cited RTI reply stating that oil PSUs here have been receiving shipments from Okwuibome Crude Oil, Nigerian company from 2018 to 2020.
Critiquing the Modi Government, Vallabh asked why there have been no attempts to extradite them. "Why have there been no attempts to extradite the Sandesara brothers? Does the Modi government consider the Sandesara brothers as fugitive economic offenders and why does oil PSUs indulge in repeated business with economic offenders? Will the Modi government direct ED and CBI to seize the vehicle that is reaching Paradip in November 2021?"said Vallabh.
Vallabh said, "The economic offenders dupe banks, runaway with public money, relax at foreign locations and sell goods and services from these locations to Government of India. While the citizens of India are reeling under increased prices of all essential commodities like diesel, petrol and LPG, Modi government’s vikas has been eluding them. True vikas under the BJP regime has only happened for the defaulters and fugitives."
In a stern remark, Vallabh said that a red carpet is being rolled out for the Sandesaras."Instead of central agencies going after them, they seem to be rolling out a red carpet for the Sandesaras. Instead of curbing or seizing their business and assets, Petroleum Ministry is shamelessly indulging in business with the Sandesaras," said Vallabh.
As mentioned earlier, he cited RTI reply and stated that that from January 1, 2018 to May 31, 2020, shipments worth Rs 5701.83 crore of Okwuibome Crude Oil were received by India's oil public service utilities from Sterling Oil Exploration and Energy Production Company Ltd. (SEEPCO) Nigeria." Even after the declaration of the Sandesaras as fugitive economic offenders in September 2020, there seems to be the continuous purchase of Okwuibome Crude Oil by our Oil PSU’s," he claimed.
Attributing Pandora papers, Vallabh said that the Sandesara brothers formed six offshore firms to increase oil trade to India. In an intriguing turn of events, all these companies were formed between November 2017 and April 2018 (ED registered a money laundering case in October 2017) and none of them have been investigated by central agencies like the ED and CBI, he said.
"These points clearly indicate that the central government, Public Sector Banks and central agencies like CBI and ED have not only been going soft on the Sandesara brothers but also helping them escape the law and contributing to their wealth and fortunes by repeatedly indulging in business with them," Vallabh alleged.
Elaborating further, Vallabh stated that the ED registered a money laundering case against Sterling Biotech and its promoters, the Sandesara brothers in October 2017. Just ahead of the Central Bureau of Investigation and the ED registering cases against them, the Sandesara brothers managed to flee from India. They were alleged of siphoning off loans of government banks worth Rs 15,000 crore. Further, he said that a special court declared Nitin Sandesara, Chetan Sandesara, his wife Dipti and Hiteshkumar Narendrabhai Patel as fugitive economic offenders as per the ED’s request in September 2020.
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