11-11-2005, 09:24 PM
Vitol links Cong to $16.8 m oil scam
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Another Letter of Credit worth $5.7 m links Natwar------- More details linking the Congress party and former External Affairs Minister K Natwar Singh with the Iraq Oil-for-Food scam surfaced even as the Union Cabinet on Thursday approved the setting up of the Justice RS Pathak Inquiry Authority to go into the Volcker Committee revelations.
A Rotterdam-based oil major Vitol had issued two letters of credit (LC) -<b>one for the Congress party and another for Natwar Singh_ which were deposited with the UN approved bank Banque Nationale Paribas</b>.
A close scrutiny of Table IV of the Volcker Committee report shows that Vitol issued an LC (N731924) for $ 16.8 million against Contract No. M/10/57 that tallies with the details mentioned against the Congress in Table III of the report. The LC was reportedly issued for 1.896 million barrels of oil that was sanctioned to the Congress as a non-contractual beneficiary.
Similarly, Vitol issued a LC (D726805) for $5.7 million against contract no. M/09/54 that tallies with details mentioned against Mr Singh in Table III. The LC was for 300,000 barrels of oil.
In the face of these fresh pointers, the Opposition dubbed the UPA Government's resolution setting up the Inquiry Authority "to establish the truth or otherwise of unverified references" in the Volcker report as an attempt to cover up the Congress party's involvement in the scam.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Another Letter of Credit worth $5.7 m links Natwar------- More details linking the Congress party and former External Affairs Minister K Natwar Singh with the Iraq Oil-for-Food scam surfaced even as the Union Cabinet on Thursday approved the setting up of the Justice RS Pathak Inquiry Authority to go into the Volcker Committee revelations.
A Rotterdam-based oil major Vitol had issued two letters of credit (LC) -<b>one for the Congress party and another for Natwar Singh_ which were deposited with the UN approved bank Banque Nationale Paribas</b>.
A close scrutiny of Table IV of the Volcker Committee report shows that Vitol issued an LC (N731924) for $ 16.8 million against Contract No. M/10/57 that tallies with the details mentioned against the Congress in Table III of the report. The LC was reportedly issued for 1.896 million barrels of oil that was sanctioned to the Congress as a non-contractual beneficiary.
Similarly, Vitol issued a LC (D726805) for $5.7 million against contract no. M/09/54 that tallies with details mentioned against Mr Singh in Table III. The LC was for 300,000 barrels of oil.
In the face of these fresh pointers, the Opposition dubbed the UPA Government's resolution setting up the Inquiry Authority "to establish the truth or otherwise of unverified references" in the Volcker report as an attempt to cover up the Congress party's involvement in the scam.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->