Exclusive: The Chandrababu Naidu case files

[andhra_jp]

The skill development scam involves two private companies and several shell companies linked to them. But can the CID establish a clear money trail to Chandrababu Naidu or his family?

 

Soon after, the TDP government established the Andhra Pradesh State Skill Development Corporation (APSSDC) — a not-for-profit company — in Public Private Partnership (PPP) mode. The government order (GO) in this regard was passed by the Higher Education Department on September 10, 2014, appointing Ghanta Subbarao as the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, and K Lakshminarayana as the Director of APSSDC.

A tripartite agreement with Siemens and DesignTech was one of the first deals entered into by the Corporation. The outlay was simple — develop six skill development clusters across the state (comprising one Centre of Excellence and five technical Skill Development Institutes). DesignTech, a Pune-based company, was responsible for implementing the overall project, with the assistance and guidance of Siemens Industry Software (India).

What was Andhra government’s role, asks CID

There are three main documents with regard to the project. The CID claims that the language used is different in each document, which allowed Naidu to conjure up a scam. The first was a tripartite agreement dated May 28, 2015 – this agreement said that DesignTech would be the proposer and integrator of the project, Siemens the technology partner, and APSSDC would identify institutes and areas. The agreement said that Rs 330 crore (excluding taxes) would be given by the Andhra Pradesh government as financial assistance, while the rest of the costs would be borne by the two companies.

Tripartite agreement between Siemens India, DesignTech and APSSDC

 

A GO issued on June 30, 2015 by the state government’s Skill Development Entrepreneurship and Innovation (SDE&I) Department clearing the project mentioned that the remaining 90% of the project cost would be provided as a ‘grant-in-aid’ by the technology partners (Siemens and DesignTech).

Government Order clearing Siemens project

 

An undertaking signed on December 4, 2015 said that each cluster would cost Rs 559 crore to develop, and Andhra government’s “contribution” would be capped at Rs 55 crore or 10%.

Undertaking towards overall valuation of Siemens project

 

 

 

[andhra_jp]

Did Naidu overlook comments advising caution?

The CID says file notings by two IAS officers also strengthen their case. K Suneetha, the then Secretary of the Finance Department, had objected to releasing the entire share of Rs 371 crore (the total amount including taxes), saying it may not be appropriate at such an early stage in the project without obtaining any guarantee, and suggesting that they wait for a pilot project to be implemented.

Suneetha IAS notes that a pilot project may be aptShadow File

 

The CID also alleged that Naidu created pressure on the then Chief Secretary IYR Krishna Rao and then Principal Finance Secretary PV Ramesh to release funds in a hasty manner, before the 90% ‘grant-in-aid’ was received from Siemens and DesignTech. Ramesh noted in a shadow file of the Finance Department that the Chief Secretary met him regarding immediate release of funds and that the Chief Minister had instructed the same.

PV Ramesh says CS spoke to him on projectShadow File

 

[andhra_jp]

This led to speculation in some sections of the media that it was PV Ramesh’s statement to the CID that had incriminated Naidu in the case, leading to his arrest. However, Ramesh has denied this conjecture

 

In November 2015, PV Ramesh noted that Siemens and DesignTech have demonstrated outcomes in Gujarat and therefore the entire amount can be released in two instalments provided the companies lay the ground for fulfilling their commitment.

PV Ramesh says money can be released on certain conditionsShadow File

PV Ramesh notes need for monitoring committeeShadow File

The CID says that the haste shown by Naidu in setting up the APSSDC, bringing it under the SDE&I Department (from the Higher Education Department), not calling a tender, not setting up a monitoring committee, handpicking who would head these bodies, and releasing the entire amount of Rs 371 crore to DesignTech in a matter of four months — December 2015 to March 2016 — shows that he was impatient to have direct access to the Siemens project files, in order to have the funds released and diverted through shell companies so that ultimately he and his family as well as the TDP could benefit from them.

Funds released to DesignTech by APSSDCAP CID

 

[andhra_jp]

The maze of companies

In August 2018, the Pune division of the DGGI, or Directorate-General of Goods and Services Tax (GST) Intelligence, arrested 50-year-old Vishal Srivastav Shirish Shah. Shirish Shah was running a company called Allied Computers International (Asia) Ltd or ACI. The DGGI alleged that Shah was running more than 200 shell companies, had issued fake invoices worth Rs 70 crore to various companies and was collecting commissions for this. Two of the companies, according to DGGI, that used this fake voucher system were DesignTech and Skillar Enterprise India Private Ltd. At the time, a DGGI officer told Pune Mirror that the significance of these two companies was that they were part of an Andhra government project.

The DGGI’s findings and a forensic audit done by the Andhra Pradesh government became the basis for an FIR that was filed by the Andhra CID on December 9, 2021. The APSSDC also filed a complaint with the CID and as is the norm, the ED stepped in to investigate the financial angle.

The ED said that Siemens and DesignTech sub-contracted their work to a company called Skillar Enterprise India Private Ltd. Skillar was in fact set up only on July 30, 2015, a month after the GO clearing the APSSDC project was issued. Of the Rs 371 crore that the APSSDC released, Rs 241 crore was transferred to Skillar (formerly called PSVP) and this entire amount was embezzled, according to the ED.

The ED’s case is that DesignTech claimed Skillar provided software training development; however, Skillar took a contradictory stand regarding the nature of services. Skillar told the ED that they bought the training software from Shirish Shah’s ACI and five other companies. All these companies – including Skillar – are shell companies that were not doing any work but providing fake invoices, the investigating agencies alleged.

The scam, according to the ED, worked like this – money went from DesignTech to Skillar, from Skillar to tier I of 6 shell companies, and from there on to a second tier of shell companies.

[mettastar]

DesignTech anedi shell company aa?

[andhra_jp]

The maze of companies -- Continued

The ED also said that Skillar was set up by an acquaintance of Siemens India’s Suman Bose, a man named Praveen Bhatia. Bhatia also said that Suman introduced him to two fresh shareholders to whom the majority of Skillar’s shares were transferred. Suman Bose denied this to the ED, saying he only introduced Bhatia to DesignTech MD Vikas Khanvelkar. The ED thus alleged that a close group of people floated new companies or used their existing companies to funnel out the money.

One of the accused, Mukul Chandra Agarwal, is part of three companies that received Rs 56 crore from Skillar. Two of these companies (that got Rs 18 crore from the total) were set up in 2016 and 2017 respectively. 

Sarath, a lawyer representing Suman Bose, DesignTech, and Skillar points to a bail granted by the High Court to the accused in the case, including Suman Bose and Vikas Khanvelkar. “Getting a bail in an ED case is not possible unless one satisfies Section 45 of the PMLA Act.” This section says that a person can be given bail only if the court is satisfied that there are reasonable grounds for believing that he is not guilty of such offence and that he is not likely to commit any offence while on bail.

Sarath adds, "The mere creation of any of these entities post entering of the tripartite agreement in 2015 does not by itself make these entities “shell” as alleged by the CID or ED. The true test to conclude a particular entity as “shell” is only by examination of the nature of transactions, whether it had any real employees, whether there is any revenue being generated out of the businesses for which it is established."

While all these private individuals and entities are fighting various cases, what is crucial to note here is that the investigations by the DGGI, IT, and ED are restricted to the private companies and their alleged money laundering – there is no mention of involvement by the Andhra Pradesh government, the APSSDC, or Naidu himself yet.

[andhra_jp]

Did Naidu make money?

On September 19, as the Andhra Pradesh High Court heard arguments in a petition filed by Naidu to quash the case against him, the state government submitted a 36-page counter. In its remand report after Naidu’s arrest, the CID had said, “Investigation revealed that Sri N Chandrababu Naidu and the Telugu Desam Party were the end beneficiaries of the misappropriated money.” However, no mention of this is made in the latest counter. Instead it regurgitated the allegations made by the CID and added that Naidu’s detention was vital to take the investigation to its logical conclusion. “The investigation is still inconclusive for collecting further evidence which include the information which is considered to be in exclusive knowledge of the Petitioner/Accused.”

Though the CID says the project was overvalued and the money was diverted through Hawala transactions, Salve said, “What DesignTech might have done to save taxes is where the problem started, to involve [Naidu] is malafide.” He argued that since the skill development centres were now functioning, whether the partner firms and their vendors had inflated invoices were not the government’s concern.

When asked about the money trail, sources in the AP government point to the interrogation of businessman Manoj Vasudev Pardasany by the I-T Department. According to I-T, Manoj said that he used to meet Naidu’s personal assistant Pendyala Srinivas, who in turn threatened him to use fake vouchers and raise election funding. However, in the three pages of the interrogation that AP government sources have handed over to the media, Manoj does not speak of the APSSDC. “Manoj has not spoken about APSSDC, but there must be some other agents. It is important to confront Naidu with other accused to find the truth,” the government source said.

 The CID insists that Naidu’s detention is important to establish the money trail, but if that does not happen, the case will most likely fall apart. Both the TDP and the YSRCP are vying to be heard, however, any order from the court can shift the narrative completely. Meanwhile, more cases have been filed against Naidu and a fresh arrest warrant issued.

[andhra_jp]

6 minutes ago, mettastar said:

DesignTech anedi shell company aa?

Skillar and its sub companies are shell aneedi one argument...

[BrotherBairagi]

40 minutes ago, andhra_jp said:

The skill development scam involves two private companies and several shell companies linked to them. But can the CID establish a clear money trail to Chandrababu Naidu or his family?

 

Soon after, the TDP government established the Andhra Pradesh State Skill Development Corporation (APSSDC) — a not-for-profit company — in Public Private Partnership (PPP) mode. The government order (GO) in this regard was passed by the Higher Education Department on September 10, 2014, appointing Ghanta Subbarao as the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, and K Lakshminarayana as the Director of APSSDC.

A tripartite agreement with Siemens and DesignTech was one of the first deals entered into by the Corporation. The outlay was simple — develop six skill development clusters across the state (comprising one Centre of Excellence and five technical Skill Development Institutes). DesignTech, a Pune-based company, was responsible for implementing the overall project, with the assistance and guidance of Siemens Industry Software (India).

What was Andhra government’s role, asks CID

There are three main documents with regard to the project. The CID claims that the language used is different in each document, which allowed Naidu to conjure up a scam. The first was a tripartite agreement dated May 28, 2015 – this agreement said that DesignTech would be the proposer and integrator of the project, Siemens the technology partner, and APSSDC would identify institutes and areas. The agreement said that Rs 330 crore (excluding taxes) would be given by the Andhra Pradesh government as financial assistance, while the rest of the costs would be borne by the two companies.

Tripartite agreement between Siemens India, DesignTech and APSSDC

 

A GO issued on June 30, 2015 by the state government’s Skill Development Entrepreneurship and Innovation (SDE&I) Department clearing the project mentioned that the remaining 90% of the project cost would be provided as a ‘grant-in-aid’ by the technology partners (Siemens and DesignTech).

Government Order clearing Siemens project

 

An undertaking signed on December 4, 2015 said that each cluster would cost Rs 559 crore to develop, and Andhra government’s “contribution” would be capped at Rs 55 crore or 10%.

Undertaking towards overall valuation of Siemens project

 

 

 

glad somebody dug this through and posted instead of muddying up and political bashing!

[andhra_jp]

Pune GST intel unit nabs man behind crores in tax evasion

By Vishal Srivastav Shirish Shah (50), who ran M/s ACI, has 212 shell companies via which he helped several prominent entities not pay govt In one of the biggest successes for the DGGI or directorate

 

Shirish Shah (50), who ran M/s ACI, has 212 shell companies via which he helped several prominent entities not pay govt

In one of the biggest successes for the DGGI or directorate-general of goods and services tax (GST) intelligence in the country, the Pune zonal unit has nabbed a man who helped hundreds of entities evade taxes, to the tune of thousands of crores of rupees, through a host of shell companies.

DGGI Pune zonal sleuths on Thursday cornered the mastermind behind more than 200 shell companies that expanded their wings across the nation to perpetrate financial fraud. The arrested accused has been identified as Shirish Shah (50), a resident of the posh Marine Drive area in Mumbai — he is the manager, operator and controller of as many as 212 shell companies, which also includes 16 listed penny stock companies.

Shah was on the radar of the erstwhile Income Tax (I-T) Department, which had since six years been trying to net him down; I-T officials had even written to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) last year, seeking help to track Shah down.

The firm behind the scenes of the massive racket that Shah has been running is M/s Allied Computers International (Asia) Ltd, commonly known as M/s ACI. The company has issued fake invoices worth Rs 70 crore, and also collected some Rs 7.30 crore from its customers, which has not been paid to the government. Further, Shah also benefited several companies, including Bhushan Steel, Bhushan Power and the Ajmera Group, helping launder over Rs 600 crore for Bhushan Steel, and aiding Bhushan Power in evading close to Rs 4,000 crore in taxes, a senior DGGI officer informed Mirror.

The top official also said that intel against Shah was developed when reports filtered in of M/s ACI holding a service tax registration and raising tax invoices that charged service tax from customers without paying any of the amount to the government.

What is surprising is that these fake tax invoices are being used by renowned companies for taking input credit, including M/s Designtech Systems Ltd and Skillar Enterprise India Private Ltd. “The significance of these two companies in this case can be understood by the fact that they are part of the Tripartite Agreement entered in 2015 between the Andhra Pradesh State Skill Development Corporation, M/s Design Tech and M/s Siemens Industry Software Indian Ltd, for setting up and operating skill development centres in Andhra Pradesh,” said Vaishali Patange, deputy director of DGGI’s Pune zonal unit, while speaking to Mirror.

As Shah had been actively involved in tax evasion processes for many companies, there is expectedly a large trail that may now come under the scanner of the GST intelligence department.

“We had summoned Shah in various cases and asked him to appear before us. When he arrived over for the interrogation, we arrested him as per procedures. He had been involved in helping big firms evade huge amounts of tax. His arrest is a big success for sure, but we can’t deny the fact that there are many more companies that are under our radar. Our investigations are on in various other cases that Shah has been involved in,” Patange added.

 

 

 

 

[andhra_jp]

Vishal Srivastav Shirish Shah (50)

[Thokkalee]

Ysrcp is insulting CBN by implicating him in such a small case… minimum oka 10,000 crore scam kuda dorakaledaa?? 

[mettastar]

Money trail lenattundi

[trent]

2 hours ago, andhra_jp said:

Skillar and its sub companies are shell aneedi one argument...

One week time tesukoni counter ki malli em submit cheyakunda, notes poyay etc etc ani Malli time asking CID  Lol. 
 

[Kaidi7691]

Abba tammudu time waste chesukoku.

naa fans ki neney dikku. Verey option ledhu vallaki