Coalgate: Money from coal routed to Mauritius, says Hansraj Ahir

NAGPUR: In a new twist to the coalgate scam, BJP MP Hansraj Ahir has alleged that some of the businessmen who profited by selling coal blocks have stashed the proceeds in Mauritius. "They include some from Nagpur with one of them having opened an account in the name of his daughter," said Ahir, whose complaints saw CBI conducting countrywide raids on several companies which had been allotted coal blocks, in the city on Tuesday.

The Chandrapur MP added that the CBI is aware of this and is "investigating it".

Ahir said allottees throughout the country, and not just Nagpur, have profited by selling their stakes in the coal blocks to third parties. "There is a person by the name of Agrawal who has several blocks in his name and is still scouting for buyers. Such businessmen exploited the situation by first cornering blocks in their name and later selling it to industries, which were genuine users, for a premium," he said.

Incidentally, several such blocks which changed hands are situated in Chandrapur district, Ahir's constituency.

Did he complain in writing to the CBI on profiteering from coal blocks? Ahir said he knew of just one case - Grace Industries which sold the block to Sanvijay Industries also from Nagpur. "I have informed the investigating agency about this, I also hinted to them about another deal which was about to be finalized but I did not have the entire information. About the rest, I did not register a formal complaint as there was no proof with me," he said.