B Sanjeeva Rao – the nephew of former Prime Minister Narasimha Rao has been sentenced to three years in jail by a CBI court in connection with the 133 crore urea scam, Times of India has reported. He has also been fined Rs 1 crore by the court.
Besides’s Rao, those sentenced include:
- Former fertiliser minister Ram Lakhan Singh Yadav’s son – Prakash Chand Yadav, jailed for three years
- CK Ramakrishnan – erstwhile CMD of National Fertilisers limited, jailed for three years
- DS Kanwar and Sambasiva Rao – erstwhile Executive Directors, jailed for three years
- D Mallesham Gaud – Businessman, jailed for three years
- Two Turkish nationals and executives of Karsan limited – Tuncay Alankus and Cihan Karanchi, jailed for six years and filed Rs 100 crore each
As detailed by PTI, the scam dates back to 9 January 1995, when Turkish national Tuncay Alankus signed a contract with National Fertilisers Limited to supply them with with 2 lakh metric tonnes (MT) of urea priced at $190 per MT, on the condition that the total amount of approximately Rs 133 crore, would be paid upfront.
Subsequently after first paying $380,000 for insurance reasons, the National Fertilisers Limited credited the remaining amount in the bank account of Karsan limited on 29 November 1995. The bank account of Karsan was held in Geneva’s Pictet bank.
Even though the full amount was credited in the company’s account, it failed to supply the urea and it was subsequently alleged that Alanus had dishonestly transferred the amount in various bank accounts. It was also alleged that the accused Indian nationals too received money via hawala channels.
The CBI stepped into the matter on 19 May 1996, by registering a case in the matter and then subsequently filing a chargesheet in 1997.
