Chennai: CBI on Wednesday started probing how M.A.M.R Muthiah’s Chettinad International Coal Terminal Pvt Ltd, a BOT operator at Kamaraj Port Ltd for non-TNEB coal terminal, had managed to violate the license agreement on full revenue sharing worth many crores of rupees with the help of two general managers of the port.
MAMR Muthiah, disowned adopted son of famous industrialist late MAM Ramasamy, is head of the Chettinad group of companies.
CBI’s anti-corruption branch has registered a case of criminal conspiracy, cheating and criminal misconduct by a public servant against Sanjay Kumar, GM, corporate strategy, KPL, M Gunasekaran, GM, finance, KPL, and CICTPl, represented by M A M R Muthiah.
CICTPL which commenced commercial operations on 10, September 2010, had an outstanding of the revenue share portion of Rs 17.21 crore as on 31, July 2012. The outstanding went up to Rs 47.65 crore upto February 2014.
The CBI says that Sanjay Kumar and Gunasekaran in a criminal conspiracy with the CICTPL company dishonestly failed to realise the outstanding amount of Rs 17.21 crore without invoking the available bank guarantee of CICTPL.
The case was later referred to the arbitral tribunal which conducted 19 sittings from 14, November 2012 to 5, April 2014 and finally in its report said that a total of Rs 55.69 (including interest, of Rs 8.04 crore on Rs 47.65 crore) crore should be paid by CICTPL to KPL for a period of September 2010 to February 2014.
Again the general managers, instead of encashing the available bank guarantee of CICTPL delayed the realisation, says CBI in its FIR. The two officers gave 22 days to CICTPL to challenge the award at Madras High Court, notes CBI.
While CICTPL was dodging payment of Rs 55 crore to KPL, KPL GMs Sanjay Kumar and Gunasekaran cleared various payments to CICTPL, including waiver of liquidated damages worth Rs 1.31 crore, waiver of interest claim towards rent worth Rs 40 lakh and compensation worth Rs 35 lakh towards road construction.
