Amrapali affairs run by a syndicate: Forensic auditor tells SC

The Supreme Court was on Wednesday told by forensic auditors that affairs of the real estate major Amrapali group of companies were being run by a "syndicate" and that group's former Chief Financial Officer and statutory auditor were part of it.

"I don't have an iota of doubt that statutory auditors were very much part of the syndicate," forensic auditor Pawan Aggarwal told the bench of Justice Arun Mishra and Justice Uday Umesh Lalit, also pointing out that the real estate group paid Rs 2 crore income tax of its former CFO and also gave him a BMW car costing about Rs 43 lakh.

"It was a syndicate where CFO and statutory auditor were part of it", Aggarwal told the court.

Forensic auditors are checking the accounts of Amrapali group of companies on the direction of the top court.

Aggarwal also informed the court that every day they were stumbling on new set of companies which were used by the real estate major for channeling its transaction.

Telling the court that "every day we are finding news companies", Aggarwal estimated that there may be a network of 200 to 225 such companies.

Pointing to the gross involvement of statutory auditor Anil Mittal in these companies, Aggarwal told the court that the "relatives of statutory auditor, his wife and brother are grossly involved" in these companies.

Mittal told the court that he received around Rs 50-60 crore from the group beyond his work and the money was put in these companies for routing transaction.

In one instance the money was put in one such company for payment to Mauritius-based J.P. Morgan for the loan taken from it, Mittal told the court.

He told the court that he got into it on the suggestion of former CFO Chander Wadhwa.

Forensic auditors also informed the court that though in pursuance to its October 26 order, Amrapali has handed them computers and two laptops, but not the password.

The court wanted to know if RBI rules were followed in making payments to J.P. Morgan in Mauritius.

Counsel for J.P. Morgan - both for Mauritius and Singapore - told the court that they would furnish all the details as there was a mismatch in the amount that Amrapali said that they have to pay to Morgan and the amount that Morgan said it had to receive.

The court directed Amrapalli to give the password of the computers to the forensic auditors, including information on the accounts of the companies in each computer.

The next hearing is on November 13.

--IANS

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