For alleged irregularities in a case involving currency production, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has filed a first information report against former finance secretary Arvind Mayaram. At the time, he served as the Department of Economic Affairs’ secretary (DEA).
Following the case, the federal authorities searched a number of Mayaram-owned locations in Delhi and Jaipur on Thursday.
The CBI said that Mayaram had granted a “illegal extension” to the UK company De La Rue International in 2013 for a five-year supply of exclusive colour shift (security thread) for Indian banknotes. It claimed that Mayaram gave the British company an unfair advantage, which led to the British company making improper gains at the expense of the Indian exchequer.
The former bureaucrat, a UK company, unidentified representatives of the finance ministry, and the Reserve Bank of India were all allegedly involved in a criminal conspiracy and cheating in the complaint, which was filed on January 10. (RBI).
The agency claims that on September 4, 2004, the RBI signed an exclusive deal with De La Rue after receiving permission from the then-finance minister to negotiate on behalf of the government with suppliers of special security features.
The agreement was four times extended to December 31, 2015.
According to the agreement with De La Rue International, the business has created an exclusive green to blue colour shift clear text MRT machine readable security thread for use as a security feature in Indian banknote paper and for which the business holds the sole manufacturing rights.
The CBI discovered that PK Biswas, a former executive director of RBI, signed the exclusive deal without checking the validity of De La Rue’s claimed patent. The agency stated: “Investigation also discovered that the contract agreement did not have any termination clauses.
On April 17, 2006 and September 20, 2007, the RBI and the Security Printing and Minting Corporation of India (SPMCIL), respectively, filed their reports regarding the company’s non-possession of the patent.
The CBI discovered that the company had applied for the patent in India on June 28, 2004, that it had been published on March 13, 2009, and that it had been awarded on June 17, 2011, demonstrating that it did not have a valid patent at the time of the deal.
The CBI believes that further investigation has shown that De La Rue made false representations that they had patents on their color-shifting thread at the time of their selection in 2004 and their presentation in 2002.
The business continued to receive extensions despite not having the patent.
The contract with De La Rue had expired on December 31, 2012, therefore an extension could not be granted legally, according to information provided to Arvind Mayaram, secretary of the economic affairs department, in May 2013.
The CBI said that Mayaram failed to inform the then-finance minister of this, and he renewed the contract with the UK company by disregarding the security clearance from the home ministry and finance minister.
Anil Raghbeer, who signed the De La Rue contract agreement, earned an additional Rs 8.2 crore from offshore firms in 2011, according to the CBI investigation, the FIR claimed.
On the basis of a complaint from the chief vigilance officer of the DEA, the CBI had opened a preliminary investigation in 2018.
The Charges
- The government and the UK-based De La Rue International Contract agreed into a three-year exclusive agreement in 2004 to provide special security features on currency notes.
- De La Rue allegedly received an illegal extension from Arvind Mayaram, the department of economic affairs’ secretary, despite the fact that his contract had already ended.
- The agreement was four times extended to December 31, 2015.
- Alleged favouritism on the part of Mayaram led to erroneous gains and exchequer losses.