CBI books joint DGFT for receiving Rs 1 crore bribe in 2018 fraud case

The CBI has booked a joint director general of foreign trade for allegedly receiving a bribe of Rs 1 crore from a businessman in 2018 in a fraud case of Rs 118 crore, officials said Thursday.

Following the registration of the FIR against Joint Director General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) Sambhaji A Chavan and Deputy DGFT Prakash S Kamble, 2008 and 2013-batch Indian Trade Service officers respectively, and businessman Ramesh Manohar Chavan, among others, the CBI conducted searches at nine locations in Delhi, Daman, Mumbai and Pune, they said.

"It is alleged that eight Export Promotion Credit Guarantee (EPCG) licenses were issued in the name Radha Madhav Corporation Ltd (RMCL) by Directorate General for Foreign Trade for import of 'capital machinery' and as per the scheme, RMCL had the obligation to export eight times the value of duty saved on the goods imported," the FIR alleged.

The Central Bureau of Investigation alleged that the total amount of duty saved on import by RMCL was Rs 16.81 crore against which the company was required to fulfil export obligations to the tune of Rs 135 crore.

"However, RMCL was found to have exported goods only worth Rs 17 crore, which was Rs 118 crore short of the obligation. The said obligation was overlooked at first but later when the matter was highlighted during CAG in the year 2017, only then further action was initiated by DGFT," the FIR alleged.

The company allegedly filed bogus shipping bills of a different company with "totally unrelated" export items with the DGFT to make them appear as "documents in support of the export obligations", the officials said.

Sambhaji Chavan and Kamble allegedly conspired with Ramesh Chavan and his chartered accountant to "overlook the requirements" pertaining to third-party exports and other requirements, they said.

"It is also alleged that bribe in cash for the above said illegal act was demanded and accepted by the public servant, Sambhaji Chavan, from the DGFT consultant, Ramesh Chavan, as disclosed before the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) officials himself by Ramesh Chavan," the FIR alleged.

The agency has taken action against the officers after taking sanction from the Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry, they said.