New Delhi: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has filed a chargesheet against George Kuruvilla, the former Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of Broadcast Engineering Consultants India Limited (BECIL), along with several others, in connection with an alleged bribery scheme involving ₹3 crore and the fraudulent disbursement of a loan to a Mumbai-based firm, The Green Billions Limited (TGBL), officials reported on Friday.
Kuruvilla was arrested in April of this year following a nearly seven-month investigation stemming from a First Information Report (FIR) filed by the agency. BECIL is a public sector enterprise operating under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.
In its findings submitted to a special court in Mumbai, the CBI also named WB Prasad, the then General Manager of BECIL; Ashish Pratap Singh, the company’s former Legal Advisor; TGBL; and its former CEO, Prateek Kanakia.
The CBI initiated the investigation by registering an FIR in September of last year, leading to the arrests of Kuruvilla, Prasad, and Kanakia in connection with the case, officials confirmed.
According to the chargesheet, the accused conspired in 2022 to defraud BECIL of ₹50 crore under the pretense of sanctioning and disbursing a venture loan of the same amount to TGBL. This was facilitated through a consortium agreement dated March 10, 2022, and a General Venture Loan Agreement dated April 8, 2022.
The investigation revealed that the accused secured a short-term corporate loan of ₹80 crore from the Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA), of which ₹50 crore was disbursed to TGBL as a venture loan for a waste-to-energy project commissioned by the Pune Municipal Corporation.
A spokesperson for the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) stated on Friday, “The total amount of ₹50 crore was disbursed in three installments: ₹12.50 crore on April 8, 2022; ₹17.50 crore on June 20, 2022; and ₹20 crore on December 29 and 30, 2022.”
The agency’s investigation revealed that Kanakia failed to utilize the disbursed funds for the intended project. Instead, he misappropriated a significant portion of the funds for personal use, including payments of ₹2 crore in April 2022 and ₹1 crore in April 2023 to the primary accused, George Kuruvilla, who was then the Chairman and Managing Director of BECIL.
Additionally, the CBI discovered that the accused officials sanctioned and disbursed an extra loan of ₹25 crore to TGBL from the ₹80 crore allocated by IREDA to BECIL.
The investigation further uncovered that the original project documents at BECIL were destroyed by the accused individuals. They received a forged Performance Bank Guarantee, dated November 28, 2022, for ₹25 crore, which was allegedly issued by the Punjab National Bank, Ghatkopar (East) Branch, Mumbai. After the disbursement of the ₹50 crore venture loan, the accused failed to ensure that the funds were used for their intended purpose, and the CEO did not repay the outstanding loan amount to BECIL.
Moreover, the agency found that Kuruvilla and Prasad neglected to obtain collateral security from TGBL to secure the loan, violating the terms and conditions of the venture loan agreement executed between BECIL and TGBL.
