4 ex-officials of Mahanadi Coalfields, 25 companies booked by CBI for causing Rs-97 Cr loss to PSU

The CBI has booked four former senior officials of Mahanadi Coalfields Limited (MCL) and 25 companies, including Adani Power Limited, Jindal Steel and Power Limited, ACC and Vedanta, for allegedly causing a loss of Rs 97 crore to the public sector undertaking in the supply of coal from it, officials said on Friday.

The agency has booked four the then officials in the finance department of MCL -- chief manager Kaberi Mukherjee, senior managers Anil Kumar Bhowmik, Debajyoti Chakraborty and deputy manager Sripalli Veeraghanta, along with 25 big companies, for the alleged conspiracy hatched between 2013 and 2017, they said.

The major companies booked by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) include ACC, Adani Power Limited, Adani Power Maharashtra Unit-3, Adani Power Maharashtra Unit-1, Vedanta, Sesa Sterlite Limited (now Vedanta), JK Paper Limited, Jindal Steel and Power Limited,IFFCO and Emami Biotech Limited, the officials said.

It is alleged that the officials conspired with the accused companies with an intention to defraud MCL in a matter relating to supply of coal by it to the companies through rail rake under Fuel Supply Agreements (FSAs), they said.

The accused public servants allegedly abused their official positions by allowing supply of coal to the said companies without adhering to the provisions and terms and conditions of the FSAs, falsified the records of MCL and did not recover due performance incentives and compensation from the accused coal consumers, the officials said.

The accused persons had allegedly caused an undue and wrongful loss to the tune of Rs 97 crore to MCL, they added.