INDIA BUSINESS WORLD - APRIL - MAY 2007
The Month that was ...

CBI CASE AGAINST NATWAR KIN IN OIL SCANDAL

THE CENTRAL Bureau of Investigation has registered a new case against former Punjab Congress MLA Arvind Khanna, a kin of former external affairs minister Natwar Singh, for violating the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) by receiving Rs 9.08 crore as foreign remittances. The CBI suspects Khanna, who along with his father Vipin Khanna and brother Aditya Khanna are also in the Enforcement Directorate's (ED) net in the Volcker oil for food scandal, of receiving remittances from his father Vipin Khanna.

According to the FIR, the CBI alleged that Khanna, who is already under investigation in the Barak case, had received $1952735 (Rs 9.04 crore) during 2002-06 in his personal bank account in New Delhi from a foreign bank account. The CBI suspects that the huge amount was sent to Khanna by his father Vipin Khanna and is investigating the money trail.

The case was forwarded to the CBI by the home ministry. The CBI alleged that Khanna did not obtain permission of the central government and did not intimate the receipt of the foreign remittances. The CBI after getting authorisation from the centre, registered the criminal case under Section 23(1) r/w 4(1) of the FCRA.

As per Section 23 (1) whosoever accepts or assists any person or a political party or organisation in accepting any foreign contribution or currency from a foreign source in contravention with FCRA shall be punished with imprisonment up to five years. And 4(1) says no foreign contribution shall be accepted by any member of legislature. Arvind Khanna is already facing a CBI case relating to corruption in the Barak missile deal in which remittances were made by Israel Aircraft Industries, the makers of the Barak anti-missile system, and Rafael Industries to the bank account of TSL company owned by Arvind Khanna. Both the Khannas were among the several arms dealers who were raided by the CBI in October last year.

The ED during its investigation into the Iraqi food for oil case had also been on the trail of huge amounts of remittances coming into the country. The ED had sent show-cause notices to Arvind Khanna, Vipin Khanna and Aditya Khanna among others in the ED case to explain remittances transferred to their company accounts between June 2000 and May 2004.