CBI has questions Reliance Industries Vice-President KV Mohanan

NEW DELHI: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has questioned Reliance Industries ( RIL) Vice-President (finance) KV Mohanan on Wednesday as part of the probe into the leakage of government documents from the finance and commerce ministries last week, CBI officials said. The leakage of government document is widely referred to as the corporate espionage scam.

Mohanan, who arrived at the CBI headquarters in Delhi on Wednesday evening, was questioned for several hours. An RIL spokesman did not respond to a request for comments. The spokesman had said on Tuesday: “A notice to witness has been served on one of our officers today. The company is ascertaining the facts and will be able to decide a course of action after his interaction with the authorities.” CBI officials on Monday had said Mohanan had been summoned after evidence had surfaced pointing to links with one of the arrested chartered accountants in the case, Khemchand Gandhi.

CBI has also summoned a leading Mumbai-based chartered accountant, Rajendra Chitale, partner of Chitale & Associates for questioning, after one of the partners in his firm was arrested by the CBI last week while allegedly trying to destroy confidential government documents in his office. Chitale is expected to be questioned later this week. CBI on Monday also questioned a mid-ranking official of accounting firm PwC in the same case, with officials saying this person was in touch with Gandhi and had allegedly received government documents from him.

Four junior government officials are already in CBI custody for allegedly leaking foreign investment related documents from the finance and commerce ministries to chartered accountants in Mumbai who in turn sold them at a hefty price to the corporates as per the CBI’s version of events.