'Bogus' bills, rent land aviation consultant Deepak Talwar in trouble

Aviation consultant Deepak Talwar has found himself in trouble with the CBI over his NGO's foreign funds after the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) flagged "irregularities" in the purchase of medicines and payment of rent by his outfit.

Last week, the CBI had registered a case against Talwar and others on charges of criminal conspiracy following the MHA's foreigner's division conducting an inspection of the books of his NGO Advantage India, which got funds from aircraft manufacturer Airbus and missile-maker MBDA.

Talwar, on his part, has denied any wrongdoing. The MHA report details a number of irregularities committed by the NGO in violation of rules regulating foreign funds.

One of the claims of the NGO, found "bogus" by the MHA, was that it bought medicines worth Rs 26.97 crore from two medical shops in south Delhi. This was when the NGO had entered into an agreement with Accordis Health Care to ensure availability of medicines, medical equipment and other facilities for their programme.

"Further on enquiries, both the firms (medical shops) have categorically stated in their letters that they have not dealt with the association. The bills and vouchers furnished by the association (Advantage India) in respect of the two pharma firms were found to be fictitious and bogus," the MHA said in its letter to the CBI director, seeking a probe by the agency.

It also noted that the Income Tax Department, which earlier searched Talwar's premises, found that the money amount said to have been given to these two firms were "rotated through many bank accounts, which were prima facie were found to be bogus".

Another irregularity found by the MHA was the payment of Rs 79.83 lakh to Talwar as rent for running his NGO in his own premises. This act amounts to using foreign contribution for "providing personal gain" to Talwar and was against the "purpose for which the fund was received", it said.

Talwar's foreign travels, which ran into Rs 30.37 lakh, were also funded by the NGO, which the MHA said was in violation of Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA). Another Rs 4.92 crore was paid to two companies for procuring huge quantities of notebooks, the MHA noted.