The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has arrested RJD MP Amarendra Dhari Singh in connection with the money laundering investigation in the fertiliser import scam involving the managing director of Indian Farmers Fertiliser Co-operative Limited (IFFCO) and others, said a senior agency official on Thursday.
“Mr. Singh is Rajya Sabha MP from the RJD. He has been arrested in the fertiliser scam case,” said the official.
The ED is conducting the probe on the basis of a First Information Report registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation against Central Bureau of Investigation against IFFCO managing director U.S. Awasthi, Pravinder Singh Gahlaut, then managing director of Indian Potash Ltd. (IPL), and others, including Mr. Singh as the senior vice-president of Jyoti Trading Corporation (Dubai).
Mr. Awasthi’s sons Amol and Anupam; Mr. Gahlaut’s son Vivek; Pankaj Jain of Dubai-based Jyoti Group of Companies and Rare Earth Group; and his brother Sanjay Jain, president of Jyoti Trading Corporation, have also been named along with Rajiv Saxena, who is also under investigation in the AgustaWestland case.
The scam involves import of fertilisers and raw materials running into thousands of metric tons by the IFFCO and the IPL from various foreign suppliers at highly inflated rates. The Central government gives subsidy on fertilisers for supply to farmers at reasonable rates. It is alleged that the quoted rates included the commissions to be paid to Mr. Awasthi and Mr. Gahlaut.
The CBI, in its case, has alleged that about ₹685 crore of illegal commissions were received through the bank accounts of firms belonging to Mr. Saxena and some others. While ₹481 crore of the total amount was routed via Dubai-based Rare Earth Group, the remaining went to the Awasthi brothers and Mr. Vivek. The accused persons had also roped in hawala operators for illegal money transfers and laundering.
