RIL denies links with Qwik Supply the third largest electoral bond buyer

Qwik Supply Chain Private Limited, a little-known company with registered address at Navi Mumbai's Dhirubhai Ambani Knowledge City (DAKC) and having links to Reliance Industries, was the third largest donor to political parties using electoral bonds.

It bought Rs 410 crore of electoral bonds between financial years 2021-22 and 2023-24 but Reliance said the company is not a subsidiary of any Reliance entity.

Electoral bond purchases and donations by Qwik Supply were behind Rs 1,368 crore of Future Gaming and Hotel Services - another little-known lottery company - and Rs 966 crore of Hyderabad-based Megha Engineering & Infra, according to information uploaded by the Election Commission on its website.

Publicly available information describes Qwik Supply as a manufacturer of warehouses and storage units. The unlisted private company was incorporated on November 9, 2000 with an authorised share capital of Rs 130.99 crore. Its paid-up capital is Rs 129.99 crore.

The firm had a revenue of over Rs 500 crore in 2022-23 (April 2022 to March 2023) but profit numbers were not known.

It bought electoral bonds worth Rs 360 crore in 2021-22 to give away to political parties. In the same year, its net profit was only Rs 21.72 crores. It bought another Rs 50 crore worth of bonds in the financial year 2023-24.

The company has three directors and one reported key management personnel. The longest serving director currently on board is Tapas Mitra - who incidentally also sits on the board of 25 other companies - was appointed on November 17, 2014. Mitra is a director of partnership firms such as Reliance Eros Productions LLP and companies like Jamnagar Kandla Pipeline Company Private Limited.

Jamnagar Kandla Pipeline is registered in Ahmedabad at an address shared by some other Reliance companies, such as Reliance Paging Private Limited, Jamnagar Ratlam Pipeline Private Limited, Reliance Tankages Private Limited and Reliance Oil and Petroleum Private Limited.

Vipul Pranlal Mehta has been a director on the board of Qwik since December 10, 2019. He is also a director of eight other companies including one called Rel Icons and Traders Private Limited.

Sridhar Titti is the most recently appointed director, joining the board on November 27, 2023.

A Reliance Industries spokesperson in response to a detailed questionnaire, said: "Qwik Supply Chain Pvt Ltd is not a subsidiary of any Reliance entity."

Nexg Devices Pvt Ltd, a firm linked to Surender Lunia, purchased Rs 35 crore worth of electoral bonds in May 2019 and November 2022. Another firm linked to him, Infotel Business Solutions bought electoral bonds worth Rs 15 crore in May 2019. He was the one who sold a 29.18 per cent stake in NDTV held by Reliance-linked firms to the Adani Group.