Former chief of PEC booked

NEW DELHI, DHNS: A former top chief of PEC Ltd, a government undertaking, and its other serving and former officials, along with two companies have been booked by the CBI on charges of cheating the PSU under the commerce ministry of at least Rs 531 crore.

Former chairman and managing director of PEC Ltd A K Mirchandani and top officials of private firms Pisces Exim (I) Pvt Ltd and Jet Link Infotech Pvt Ltd find their name in the FIR.

According to the CBI FIR, PEC had entered into 15 agreements between 2010 and 2012 with Pisces Exim Ltd for the export of iron ore to a foreign buyer for which funds were released by it.

However, the PEC has claimed that Pisces Exim defaulted on its agreement.

PEC is into the business of facilitating export and import of various commodities and guaranteeing payment of the exporters from India and granting financial facilities to importers in India.

"During the course of their arrangement, the Informant Company released a sum of Rs 348 crore to M/s Pisces Exim and its nominees as interest bearing advance... However, M/s Pisces Exim defaulted on the terms of the Associateship Agreements. Not only did it fail to supply the iron ore, as required, it also failed to refund the amount paid to it by PEC," the FIR said.

"Presently, a sum of Rs.531.72 crores (including interest, up to 30.09.2016) is due and payable to PEC along with interest till realisation. Importantly, the said monies due are public money," it said.

Those named in the FIR included a former director of Pisces Exim, as well as present directors Pravin Kumar Rathod and Shantanu Sharma.