Hyderabad:
Enforcement Directorate (ED) investigations into the skill development scam found that funds meant to build Centres of Excellence (CoE) for unemployed youth in Andhra Pradesh travelled much further. In its supplementary chargesheet, recently filed in the PMLA court in Visakhapatnam, the ED alleged it had traced foreign outward remittances to Ben Research and Inkfish Hospitality in Singapore, and to SKGWORLS Forex in the UK—highlighting the irony of public money meant for skill training being routed into hospitality and forex ventures abroad.
The Andhra Pradesh State Skill Development Corporation (APSSDC) – Siemens project was a public-private partnership aimed at establishing six clusters comprising CoEs and Technical Skill Development Institutions (36 centres in total) across AP to provide technical training. However, it later faced allegations of financial irregularities.
According to the ED's prosecution complaint, Skillar Enterprises India (SEPL) sent about 3.4 crore to Ben Research, 74 lakh to Inkfish Hospitality, and 73 lakh to SKGWORLS Forex in the UK. The ED said Mukul Agarwal made an ‘investment' in the UK entity and also alleged that he was an authorised signatory for SEPL's accounts.
The ED further alleged linkages between the Singapore entities and accused Soumyadri Sekhar Bose, alias Suman Bose, former MD and CEO of Siemens Industry Software India. It stated that Ben Research belonged to T Sivakumar, a former Siemens employee and close associate of Bose, and that individuals who had previously worked under Bose were appointed as directors in the foreign firms.
SEPL's ‘timely' birth & control
The prosecution complaint said SEPL, originally PVSP IT Skills Projects, was incorporated on July 30, 2015 — just one month after the tripartite agreement signed in June 2015 between APSSDC, Siemens (SISW) and Designtech Systems (DTSPL). Despite having ‘no past work experience, no expertise, and no genuine business operations', SEPL became the primary conduit for diverting govt funds transferred from DTSPL — about 243 crore — meant for CoE and Technical Skill Development Institutions, the ED alleged.
The complaint further said SEPL was ‘completely under the control' of Bose and Agarwal. Though Agarwal was not a director, he was an authorised signatory with powers to operate SEPL's ICICI Bank and Axis Bank accounts.
Layering through shell entities
The ED said that between December 2015 and March 2016, APSSDC disbursed about 371 crore to DTSPL, which transferred a significant portion, via SEPL, on claims for sub-contract work such as ‘training software development' and ‘royalty and subscription', supported by ‘concocted and fabricated' invoices. The complaint said the DTSPL managing director later admitted there was no evidence of services received.
From SEPL, the ED traced diversions to Allied Computers International (Asia) (about 58 crore) and to three entities — Patrick Info Services, ITsmith Solutions and Inweb Services — through ‘turnover entries' meant to give a ‘genuine image' to bogus billing. The ED also alleged transfers to Knowledge Podium Systems (about 38 crore) and Cadence Partners LLP (about 17 crore), which it said were linked to Agarwal's family.
The foreign remittances were classified as part of about 151.6 crore identified as ‘proceeds of crime', the ED said.
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Sudhakar Reddy Udumula is the Editor (Investigation) at the Times...
Read MoreSudhakar Reddy Udumula is the Editor (Investigation) at the Times of India, Hyderabad. Following the trail of migration and drought across the rustic landscape of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, Sudhakar reported extensively on government apathy, divisive politics, systemic gender discrimination, agrarian crisis and the will to survive great odds. His curiosity for peeking behind the curtain triumphed over the criminal agenda of many scamsters in the highest political and corporate circles, making way for breaking stories such as Panama Papers Scam, Telgi Stamp Paper Scam, and many others. His versatility in reporting extended to red corridors of left-wing extremism where the lives of security forces and the locals in Maoist-affected areas were key points of investigation. His knack for detail provided crucial evidence of involvement from overseas in terrorist bombings in Hyderabad.
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