CBI arrests Nalco CMD for graft

A CBI release said Nalco CMD A K Srivasta’s wife had accepted three bars each weighing 3 kg of 24 carat gold from the wife of a middleman who was brokering a deal between the CMD and a Madhya Pradesh-based private group of companies.

At the time of the raid, the wife of CMD of Nalco accompanied by the wife of the middleman had just deposited the three gold bricks in a bank locker in Bank of Maharashtra branch in New Delhi. This bank locker, in the name of the wife of the middleman, was being operated by the wife of the CMD, Nalco, as benami.

A search of this locker resulted in the seizure of seven more gold bricks of 1 kg each, golden ornaments weighing 188 grams and Rs 9.5 lakh in cash. The  CMD’s wife was also in possession of Rs 5 lakh in cash and a key of another locker in the name of the spouse of the middleman.

Further search of this second locker led to seizure of Rs 15 lakh in cash.  So far, 10.188 kg of gold and Rs 29.5 lakh in cash have been seized. The overall value of the gold, at current prices, comes to approximately Rs 2.43 crore. All the four accused, Srivastava, his wife, the middleman and his wife have been arrested.