CWG: ED to interrogate 2 businessmen close to Kalmadi

The Directorate will soon approach the court to question the promoters of Faridabad-based Gem International-- Anil K Madan and Purushottam Dev Arya for their role in the Timing, Scoring and Result (TSR) deal, the sources said.

Both are in judicial custody after they surrendered before the court in August this year. "Both will be questioned for their role in executing the contract. They are being probed on money laundering charges," ED sources said.

The firm, according to sources, had created five "bogus invoices" to execute works more than Rs 23 crore for the sporting event held in October last year here. The agency has traced certain transactions in this regard.

The CBI in its chargesheet had said that the authorised representatives of Swiss Timing, which had bagged the TSR contract for CWG 2010 were close to Kalmadi long before and had tilted the contract in favour of the Swiss firm.

Kalmadi was arrested by the CBI in the same case and the role of the duo is important in the award and execution of this contract. The ED has filed a case under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) based on the same chargesheet.

CBI has said both Madan and Arya, the authorised representatives of 'Swiss Timing', which was "fradulently" awarded the TSR contract, were personally known to Kalmadi long before the mega sporting event.

Former OC Secretary General Lalit Bhanot and ex-Director General V K Verma were also close to them. "Call records show that there were telephonic contacts between them as early as February 2009," CBI had said in its chargesheet.

Swiss Timing had been engaged for providing some components of TSR services even during the Commonwealth Youth Games (CYG), 2008, when Kalmadi, Bhanot and Verma came in contact with Arya and Madan and other representatives of the Swiss firm.

CBI has in its 50-page charge sheet said Gem International also paid over Rs 71 lakh to an event management company at the behest of Kalmadi for certain additional services pertaining to the closing ceremony of the CYG, which was authorised personally by Kalmadi over and above the main contract.

This was done without any competitive bidding process or reflection of the same in the official or financial records of the OC. According to CBI, Gem International, which was a sub-contractor for 'Swiss Timing', further sub-contracted to AKR Constructions. Both Swiss Timing and AKR Construction have also been chargesheeted by CBI.