Misra May Be Questioned Again On Fera Violations

This was disclosed to waiting reporters at the end of an eight -hour interrogation of Yogi Deveshwar and K Vaidyanathan at the office of the Enforcement Directorate on Lindsay Street yesterday by ED deputy director K K Kabirpanthi.

Misra is currently in charge of key divisions that have become the focus of the ED probe.

Currently, apart from being the deputy chairman of the company, he is non-executive chairman of ITC Agrotech, and is responsible within ITC as an executive director for the tobacco division and the Indian Leaf Tobacco Division.

He is also responsible for the key agri-business division.

 

He will assume responsibility of certain key divisions after the forthcoming retirement of R K Kutty and R P Agarwal.

He has, therefore, assumed group responsibility for the international business division, the Tribeni Tissues division and the packaging and printing divisions, as well as ITCs interests as investor in ITC Global Holdings Pte Ltd and ITC Bhadrachalam Paper Boards.

Kabirpanthi said there is the possibility of Misra being interrogated again in connection with Deveshwars admission that there had been FERA violations, when the companys tobacco division indulged in under-invoicing of exports.

Saurabh Misra, who is in charge of the tobacco division, has already been interrogated by the directorate in connection with the $100 million Fera violation last Wednesday, when the directorate began its current round of raids.

Misra is one of the key members of the ITC board.

Currently considered second in command to chairman Y C Deveshwar, he is believed to be one of the persons behind the propelling tobacco and cigarette sales of the Rs 5,000 crore-plus major.

Leaf tobacco exports of 25.5 million kg in 1995-96 with a turnover of Rs 153 crore represented a growth of 26 per cent in terms of volume and 33 per cent in turnover over the previous year.

The company attributed this growth to the positive response from new markets in Latin America and South-East Asia as well as a significany recovery in the CIS.