Lobbyist Deepak Talwar, who has been brought from Dubai along with the AgustaWestland VVIP chopper deal case accused Rajiv Saxena, is being probed for his suspected role in the "irregular" seat sharing on Air India's profitable routes with three international airlines, according to agency sources.
"ED investigation has revealed that a company associated with Mr. Talwar allegedly received about Rs. 200 crore in a Singapore bank account. The transaction is said to be linked to bilateral agreements for seat sharing on Air India's profitable routes, which went in favour of Air Arabia, Emirates and Qatar airways, as alleged," said a senior official.
The seat sharing agreements allegedly caused huge losses to the national carrier.
The ED probe is based on an FIR registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation in May 2017, following a Supreme Court directive to probe allegations of irregularities in Air India operations. However, Mr. Talwar is not named as an accused in the case.
The CBI had earlier registered an FIR naming Mr. Talwar and Advantage India, an NGO associated previously with him, for alleged violation of Foreign Contributions Regulation Act involving more than Rs.90 crore.
Mr. Talwar and Mr. Saxena were brought to India on board a special plane, which landed in Delhi in the early hours of Thursday. Subsequently, the ED took them into custody. They will be produced before a special court around 2.30 p.m.
A Non-Resident Indian, Mr. Saxena has been operating from the UAE for the past two decades.
According to the ED, Mr. Saxena was a beneficial owner of Interstellar Technologies Limited (Mauritius), a firm allegedly involved in the laundering of funds. It is alleged that AgustaWestland had paid more than 58 million euro as kickbacks through Tunisia-based Gordian Services Sarl and IDS Sarl.
31/01/19 Devesh K Pandey/The Hindu
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"ED investigation has revealed that a company associated with Mr. Talwar allegedly received about Rs. 200 crore in a Singapore bank account. The transaction is said to be linked to bilateral agreements for seat sharing on Air India's profitable routes, which went in favour of Air Arabia, Emirates and Qatar airways, as alleged," said a senior official.
The seat sharing agreements allegedly caused huge losses to the national carrier.
The ED probe is based on an FIR registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation in May 2017, following a Supreme Court directive to probe allegations of irregularities in Air India operations. However, Mr. Talwar is not named as an accused in the case.
The CBI had earlier registered an FIR naming Mr. Talwar and Advantage India, an NGO associated previously with him, for alleged violation of Foreign Contributions Regulation Act involving more than Rs.90 crore.
Mr. Talwar and Mr. Saxena were brought to India on board a special plane, which landed in Delhi in the early hours of Thursday. Subsequently, the ED took them into custody. They will be produced before a special court around 2.30 p.m.
A Non-Resident Indian, Mr. Saxena has been operating from the UAE for the past two decades.
According to the ED, Mr. Saxena was a beneficial owner of Interstellar Technologies Limited (Mauritius), a firm allegedly involved in the laundering of funds. It is alleged that AgustaWestland had paid more than 58 million euro as kickbacks through Tunisia-based Gordian Services Sarl and IDS Sarl.
31/01/19 Devesh K Pandey/The Hindu
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