NEW DELHI: Surendra Kumar Jain, the main accused in the hawala case has alleged that he paid a bribe to Rajiv Gandhi also; Mr. Jain has claimed this in his statement to the anticorruption unit of the CBI.
The money was allegedly received on behalf of the former Prime Minister by his private secretary, identified as Mr. George, as well as by the treasurer of the Conroe per But Sitaram Kesri, according to Mr, Jain’s statement. Another Rs 10.5 crore were allegedly collected from Mr. Surendra Kumar Jain by Captain Satish Sharma as a kickback from a Russian export firm, Captain Sharma, Mr, Jain told the CBI, Claimed that the money was to be given to Rajiv Gandhi directly.
‘That modus operandi of the payoffs was explained by Mr. Surendra Kumar Jain in his statement recorded on March 11, 1995 before Mr, M.P, Singh, and Superintendent of Police in the CBI’s anti-Corruption unit. Mr, Jain claimed, “I had paid Rs 4 crore to Shri Rajiv Gandhi during March and May 1991_
The sum of Rs 2 crore was collected by Mr. George, the private secretary lo Shri Rajiv Gandhi, from my residence in the month of March 1991.”
Mr, Surendra Kumar Jain explained to the CBI that although the money was paid to Rajiv Gandhi’s private secretary, it was listed against the name of Rajiv Gandhi (RG) in the hawala accounts maintained by his trusted associate Mr…K. Jain.
AS for the remaining two Crore rupees, Mr, Jain alleged that it was given by him to Mr. Sita Ram Kesri. Thus he Said,” the other sum of Rs 2 crore was given by me to Shri Sita Ram Kesri, treasurer of the Congress party, at his residence in Delhi in two installments. One installment of Rs 1 crore was given to him on 259}, and the other one crore was given after about 1015 days thereafter.”
Mr. Jain also explained 10 the CBI why Mr. Sita Ram Keri’s name did not figure in the Hawala diaries seized by it. He claimed that “since these diaries had already been seized by the CBI by that time, there is no entry in respect of payments, made (o Shri Sita Ram Kesri a5 mentioned above in the month of May 1991.” The hawala diaries were seized by the CBI in April 1991.
Mr, Surendra Jain’s statement to the CBI, however, shows that Mr. V. George and Mr, Sita Ram Kesri were not the only two people who allegedly received payments on behalf of Rajiv Gandhi. Even Captain Satish Sharma.
Mr, Jain alleged, claimed to be operating on behalf of Rajiv Gandhi, He collected a kickback of Rs 10.5 crore from a Russian company, Ms., Tyaza Permo Export or T.P. Export, through Mr. Jain.
TP Export was awarded a contract by the Durgapur Steel Plant of the Steel Authority of India Lid (SAIL). While awarding the contract, Mr. Jain claimed. That “there was a demand for Rs 10.5. Crore towards political expenses at Delhi,” “Political Expenses” was clearly a euphemism for a kickback.
Since a foreign public sector under~ taking could not account for a direct bribe payment to Indian politicians, a way had to be found to get over this hurdle, and it was. According to Jain. “They (TP Export) suggested that they could make the payment to our company, Bhilai Engineering Corporation from where the required amount could be given towards political expenses. ‘The understanding between us and TP was that TP would compensate us in export orders at the inflated price which we would he quoting to them.”
Mr. Jain claimed that the Rs 10.5 crore was paid by him in installments to Captain Satish Sharma at “Hotel Holiday Inn (now Hilton) at New Delhi.” Captain Satish Sharma apparently told Mr_ Jain that the money was for Rajiv Gandhi. Thus Jain claimed,*Shri Satish Sharma told me that he had got the money taken down through the lift into the parking, from where the same was sent to the house of the then Prime Minister, Shri Rajiv Gandhi.
Not only that, Mr. Jain also claims to have gone along with Captain Satish Sharma on how the payment should be shown in his own account books/diaries, In Mr, Jain’s own words: “I knew Shri Satish Sharma since 1986. I had met him in the house of Shri Rajiv Gandhi, the then Prime Minister of India. Shri Satish Sharma had told me that instead of showing his connection with the said amount to anybody, its payment may be connected to Shri Lalit Suri in whose hotel the payments were made. I had accordingly directed Mr. JK Jain to show the said amount in the name of Mr, Lalit Suri, while accounting for the same even though | had paid the amount to Shri Satish Sharma.”
Mr. Jain in his statement of May 11, 1995 also elaborated on how the Rs 10.5 crore paid to Captain Satish Sharma ‘was adjusted “against the export order of about Rs 30 er to Rs 40 cr.
Article extracted from this publication >> January 31, 1996
