12-08-2005, 02:21 AM
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>Speedy ED edges out Pathak </b>
Pioneer.com
Pramod Kumar Singh / New Delhi
<span style='font-size:14pt;line-height:100%'>The enforcement Directorate has completely hijacked the Volcker probe with Justice RS Pathak appearing more and more like a silent player.</span> The ambit of the ED's investigations go beyond the terms of reference of the Justice Pathak Authority with a clear implication that it is carrying out a separate probe and not assisting Justice Pathak.
According to the terms of reference, the Justice RS Pathak Inquiry Authority was expected to go into the allegations of payoffs to former External Affairs Minister Natwar Singh and the Congress Party besides other aspects relating to the references in the Volcker Report on the United Nations Oil-for-Food scam.
Another important aspect of the terms of reference was the power vested in Justice Pathak to utilise the services of any officer or investigative agency of the Central or State Government with their concurrence for conducting an investigation.
However, there are clear indications that the ED is carrying out its separate probe and not confining itself to the central point of the terms of reference in an attempt to broadbase the investigation.
<b>While the terms of reference specifically talks about allegations of pay-off to Mr Natwar Singh and the Congress Party, the ED has not deemed it fit to interrogate Mr Natwar Singh or anyone else who may have got the oil vouchers on behalf of the Congress. </b>
Its whole focus has been to zero in on Andaleeb Sehgal and the 139 other companies who may have had dealings with the Iraqi Government and carried out transactions under the oil-for-food programme.
<b>As specified in the terms of reference, the ED should have been working under the supervision of Justice Pathak. But that does not seem to be happening. Justice Pathak has so far not summoned any witness or formally started his proceedings. He has not even been handed over the paper brought by Prime Minister's special envoy Virendra Dayal from UN. </b>
When the UPA Government first appointed Mr Dayal as its special envoy to obtain the papers which formed the basis of the Volcker Report and Justice Pathak as the head of the main probe, there was no mention of the ED. By letting the ED carry out its own probe, the UPA Government has not only diluted the authority of the Pathak probe, it is also kept the nation in the dark about the way the matter is being investigated.
Sources said that ED Director Sudheer Nath and P Kumar, an official of the Cabinet Secretariat are focussing on who were the actual beneficiaries of the Rs 530 crore transferred from a particular account of Bank of Jordan to an account supposedly held by Jagat Singh, son of former External Affairs Minister K Natwar Singh. The said amount was deposited by Hamdaan Exports owned by Andaleeb Sehgal to Bank of Jordan.
<b>Sources in the ED said that there is a hundred percent certainty that Jagat Singh was the recipient of this huge amount. Jagat, Sehgal, Jamil Saidi, a former general secretary of Rajasthan Youth Congress and Arvind Khanna, the son of a well heeled arms dealer were the real players who made money up to the tune of over US $400 million.</b> Khanna lives in London and according to the sources holds the key to the transactions. The investigations so far indicate that Mr Singh was aware of these deals and he will have a lot of answering to do as the probe progresses.
The ED has till now identified US $101 million that was transferred to the quartet. Another $300 million is yet to be accounted for. With SK Panda, the Special Director with ED, leaving for Iraq on Thursday, the probe into this aspect is expected to gain momentum.
The ED is also trying to investigate the transactions of 139 Indian companies listed by Paul Volcker in his report. But, sources said that the UPA Government wants to identity more than 2,500-odd companies that traded with Iraq.
ED officials have already questioned Jamil Saidi who had admitted before ED officials that both Sehgal and he were in Jordan along with Jagat Singh when the Congress delegation landed up in Iraq in January 2001.Officials have also discovered that Sehgal has a bank account in Jordan Bank.
Interestingly, Sehgal and Saidi have told the ED that the copies of the papers that Virender Dayal brought from the UN were not genuine. The original papers have been kept in the lockers of State Bank of India's branch at Parliament Street while the ED was given a photocopy of the documents. The ED team will be cross checking with the Bank of Jordan and Iraqi authorities.
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Sonia/Congress must be sitting on $300 million.
Pioneer.com
Pramod Kumar Singh / New Delhi
<span style='font-size:14pt;line-height:100%'>The enforcement Directorate has completely hijacked the Volcker probe with Justice RS Pathak appearing more and more like a silent player.</span> The ambit of the ED's investigations go beyond the terms of reference of the Justice Pathak Authority with a clear implication that it is carrying out a separate probe and not assisting Justice Pathak.
According to the terms of reference, the Justice RS Pathak Inquiry Authority was expected to go into the allegations of payoffs to former External Affairs Minister Natwar Singh and the Congress Party besides other aspects relating to the references in the Volcker Report on the United Nations Oil-for-Food scam.
Another important aspect of the terms of reference was the power vested in Justice Pathak to utilise the services of any officer or investigative agency of the Central or State Government with their concurrence for conducting an investigation.
However, there are clear indications that the ED is carrying out its separate probe and not confining itself to the central point of the terms of reference in an attempt to broadbase the investigation.
<b>While the terms of reference specifically talks about allegations of pay-off to Mr Natwar Singh and the Congress Party, the ED has not deemed it fit to interrogate Mr Natwar Singh or anyone else who may have got the oil vouchers on behalf of the Congress. </b>
Its whole focus has been to zero in on Andaleeb Sehgal and the 139 other companies who may have had dealings with the Iraqi Government and carried out transactions under the oil-for-food programme.
<b>As specified in the terms of reference, the ED should have been working under the supervision of Justice Pathak. But that does not seem to be happening. Justice Pathak has so far not summoned any witness or formally started his proceedings. He has not even been handed over the paper brought by Prime Minister's special envoy Virendra Dayal from UN. </b>
When the UPA Government first appointed Mr Dayal as its special envoy to obtain the papers which formed the basis of the Volcker Report and Justice Pathak as the head of the main probe, there was no mention of the ED. By letting the ED carry out its own probe, the UPA Government has not only diluted the authority of the Pathak probe, it is also kept the nation in the dark about the way the matter is being investigated.
Sources said that ED Director Sudheer Nath and P Kumar, an official of the Cabinet Secretariat are focussing on who were the actual beneficiaries of the Rs 530 crore transferred from a particular account of Bank of Jordan to an account supposedly held by Jagat Singh, son of former External Affairs Minister K Natwar Singh. The said amount was deposited by Hamdaan Exports owned by Andaleeb Sehgal to Bank of Jordan.
<b>Sources in the ED said that there is a hundred percent certainty that Jagat Singh was the recipient of this huge amount. Jagat, Sehgal, Jamil Saidi, a former general secretary of Rajasthan Youth Congress and Arvind Khanna, the son of a well heeled arms dealer were the real players who made money up to the tune of over US $400 million.</b> Khanna lives in London and according to the sources holds the key to the transactions. The investigations so far indicate that Mr Singh was aware of these deals and he will have a lot of answering to do as the probe progresses.
The ED has till now identified US $101 million that was transferred to the quartet. Another $300 million is yet to be accounted for. With SK Panda, the Special Director with ED, leaving for Iraq on Thursday, the probe into this aspect is expected to gain momentum.
The ED is also trying to investigate the transactions of 139 Indian companies listed by Paul Volcker in his report. But, sources said that the UPA Government wants to identity more than 2,500-odd companies that traded with Iraq.
ED officials have already questioned Jamil Saidi who had admitted before ED officials that both Sehgal and he were in Jordan along with Jagat Singh when the Congress delegation landed up in Iraq in January 2001.Officials have also discovered that Sehgal has a bank account in Jordan Bank.
Interestingly, Sehgal and Saidi have told the ED that the copies of the papers that Virender Dayal brought from the UN were not genuine. The original papers have been kept in the lockers of State Bank of India's branch at Parliament Street while the ED was given a photocopy of the documents. The ED team will be cross checking with the Bank of Jordan and Iraqi authorities.
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Sonia/Congress must be sitting on $300 million.