Renewable energy giant Greenko purchased bonds worth Rs 117 cr through 44 companies: Report

The electoral bonds data released by the Election Commission of India (ECI) suggests that renewable energy giant Greenko, headquartered in Hyderabad, purchased bonds worth Rs 35 crore through 11 group companies, all bearing 'Greenko' in their registered names.

An examination by The Indian Express of the data, combined with bond purchase details from corporate filings, revealed that Greenko acquired electoral bonds through at least 44 companies, representing the highest number among any group.

Collectively, Greenko group companies spent Rs 117 crore on electoral bond purchases, surpassing the involvement of entities and related parties used by other major corporates, the publication reported.

Furthermore, in addition to the 44 Greenko group companies, three out of four directors of another entity, Ace Urban Developers, have ties to various Greenko group firms. According to the report, Ace Urban Developers purchased electoral bonds worth Rs 10 crore.

Out of the bonds worth Rs 117 crore purchased by Greenko, bonds worth Rs 55 crore were redeemed by the Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party (YSRCP), Rs 49 crore by the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), and Rs 13 crore by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

The reasons behind Greenko's purchase of bonds through numerous different corporations remain uncertain. Despite inquiries sent by the publication, Greenko has not provided any response to these questions.

According to the publication, among the other firms affiliated with the Hyderabad-headquartered company, Sneha Kinetic Power Projects emerged as the largest purchaser of electoral bonds, acquiring bonds worth a total of Rs 10 crore.

Following closely behind, Greenko Energy Projects procured bonds worth Rs 8 crore, while Skeiron Renewable Energy Amidyala purchased bonds worth Rs 7 crore.

Additionally, Achintya Solar Power, Greenko Rayala Wind Power, Greenko Anantapur Wind Power, and Greenko MP01 IREP each procured bonds worth Rs 5 crore. The remaining companies within the group acquired electoral bonds ranging from Rs 1 to 4 crore.

According to The Indian Express, among the other major corporate purchasers of electoral bonds who utilised multiple group companies were:

- The Aditya Birla group, which bought over Rs 565 crore worth of bonds through 10 companies.

- Real estate conglomerate K Raheja Corp group, which acquired over Rs 80 crore worth of bonds through 10 companies.

- Pharmaceutical giant Hetero, which invested over Rs 140 crore through 9 companies.

- The NSL group based in Hyderabad, which purchased over Rs 50 crore worth of bonds through 8 companies.

- The Prestige group, a real estate developer headquartered in Bengaluru, which obtained around Rs 50 crore worth of bonds through 8 companies.