Delhi Police Arrests CFO of Reliance Power in Bank Guarantee Fraud Case
Key Arrests in Fraudulent Tender Scheme
The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Delhi Police has taken into custody the Chief Financial Officer of Reliance Power Limited along with two accomplices for allegedly presenting counterfeit bank guarantees exceeding Rs 136 crore to secure a contract from the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI). The individuals arrested include:
- Ashok Kumar Pal (50), CFO of Reliance Power Ltd
- Partha Sarthi Biswal (54), Managing Director of Biswal Tradelink Pvt Ltd, based in Odisha
- Amarnath Dutta (50), a Kolkata resident
As per police reports, Reliance NU BESS Ltd, a subsidiary of Reliance Power, submitted two fraudulent bank guarantees of Rs 68.20 crore each during a tender process initiated by SECI. These guarantees were purportedly issued by foreign banks.
To lend authenticity to the documents, the accused allegedly fabricated email exchanges and created false confirmations from the State Bank of India (SBI) via the Structured Financial Messaging System (SFMS). SBI later verified that these documents were indeed counterfeit.
The case was initiated on June 24 of the previous year following a complaint lodged by SECI manager Biblesh Meena. Authorities claim that Ashok Kumar Pal collaborated with Biswal and Dutta to procure the forged guarantees through intermediaries, paying substantial amounts for the fraudulent documents.
Deputy Commissioner of Police Subodh Kumar Goswami from the EOW stated, “Ashok Kumar Pal conspired with the co-accused to secure forged bank guarantees from foreign banks to win the SECI tender.” All three suspects were apprehended on April 15 and are currently in police custody until April 23.
Pal is a qualified chartered accountant who has been associated with the Reliance ADAG group since 2018. Biswal, who has completed only Class 12, allegedly served as an intermediary through his company. Dutta, possessing a BCA degree and a diploma in import-export, acted as a middleman in this alleged scam. The investigation is still ongoing.