CBI arrests GL Meroform director Nanu

NEW DELHI: The Central Bureau of Investigation on Monday arrested GL Meroform Director Binu Nanu in a Commonwealth Games scam case. Nanu’s arrest could help CBI trace kickbacks paid to Games organisers by those who bagged contracts for overlays at different sport venues.

An Indo-French joint venture, GL Meroform won a contract worth Rs 107 crore for the supply of overlays — equipment and furnishings on rent — to a cluster of CWG venues (Cluster No 3).

Nanu was produced before a local court here on Tuesday morning and remanded to CBI custody for five days. His arrest is considered significant as his interrogation could enable CBI to get important clues on kickbacks that may have been paid to organisers in return for the contract.

It could help CBI trace who paid the kickbacks and who benefited. It calculates that as much as 15% of the contract money may have been used as bribe.

GL Meroform was among the four firms that bagged contracts worth Rs 668 crore for supplying overlays at different venues. Seven clusters of venues were apportioned to the four firms.

CBI had on January 6 registered a case against CWG Organising Committee director-general VK Verma, other officials of OC and managing directors and directors of a clutch of private companies under Section 120B of the Indian Penal Code, read with Section 420 of the IPC and Sections 13 (2) read with 13(i)( d) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, in the award of contracts for overlays at different venues for the Commonwealth Games at exorbitant rates.

The agency, in its FIR, alleged that the OC director-general and others hatched a criminal conspiracy with the bosses of these private entities in awarding contracts for overlays for different venues of CWG at exorbitant rates. The accused public servants abused their official positions, causing undue loss to the state exchequer , and corresponding gains to the private companies and themselves.

The agency believes organisers of the Games calibrated the situation to present a fait-accompli to the two finance committees and the CWG Executive Board for selecting the four firms which had tie-ups with foreign players on the ground that they had supplied overlays on rent to other international sports events and had the best credentials for the Games.

Investigations undertaken by CBI shows that the OC had initially decided to purchase assets and fixtures to the tune of Rs 200 crore but subsequently decided to hire them for Rs 668 crore.

It was documents seized by CBI during raids that revealed Nanu’s role in the scam.