Hyderabad Papers Reveal Swiss Bank Connection

The directorate has found original documents to show that ITCs receipts abroad were kept in Swiss numbered accounts held in the name of various EST group companies which were owned by the Chitalias.

The documents indicate that the vast sums of money deposited in these accounts were payments to Chitalias by the ITC.

ED sources say the evaluation of the total sum is still being worked out.

Other findings include documents indicting officials in the international business division with regard to the basmati rice deals, over- and under-invoicing of exports and siphoning of funds out of the country.

Eight premises of the various divisions and subsidiaries of the ITC in Hyderabad were raided, including those of ITC Bhadrachalam and Paper Boards Ltd, the international business division and the agricultural business division.

 

Meanwhile, general manager (commodities) K K Rao has been summoned by the directorate for interrogation on Thursday. Although his Hyderabad residence was raided last week, the enforcement authorities were not able to contact him.

The directorate is slated to question general manager (finance) Lakshminarayan today.

ITCs plans to inject Rs 150 crore in 1993 into its agricultural business division had been shot down by R K Kutty, one of its directors now in custody.

Kutty apparently vetoed the proposal and adhered to the report of the committee of directors which had suggested that the companys exports should be seen as a viable business and not just an activity.

This happened during K L Chughs tenure as the ITC chairman.

Hyderabad is a major centre of ITCs operations. The international business division, the agricultural business division and the spun-off 100 per cent subsidiary, ITC Zeneca, are based in the Andhra Pradesh capital.

ITC Bhadrachalam too, the paper and paper boards subsidiary which was chaired by K L Chugh through its early years of heady growth, is based here.