Of 26 companies which faced agencies’ heat, two-thirds bought electoral bonds after a knock on door
Total bonds bought by these 26 companies from April 2019 till February 2024 is Rs 5,179 crore; BJP enchased 37%, TMC 18%, Congress 12%.
Overall, between April 2019 and February 2024, these 26 companies bought Rs 700.65 crore in bonds before facing agencies’ actions and Rs 4,479.6 crore after. Ten of these companies donated a total of at least Rs 100 crore each. (Express Archives) Of 26 companies that bought the electoral bonds and have faced action by investigative agencies, 16 donated to political parties through bonds only after they came under the radar of these agencies. Further, the donations of another six companies surged after these agencies started cracking down on them.
A scrutiny of the 26 companies by The Indian Express reveals the parties that benefited included the BJP, which rules at the Centre, and got 37.34% of the bonds purchased by these companies, and other ruling parties in states like the TMC got 18.29%, DMK 11.35%, BJD 4.48% and BRS 8.59%. The Congress, which rules in three states, got 11.97%.
Overall, between April 2019 and February 2024, these 26 companies bought Rs 700.65 crore in bonds before facing agencies’ actions and Rs 4,479.6 crore after. Ten of these companies donated a total of at least Rs 100 crore each.
For instance, the top donor Future Gaming, owned by “lottery king” Santiago Martin, did not purchase a single electoral bond until a year after it faced an ED probe on alleged money laundering charges. Subsequently, the Coimbatore-based company bought bonds worth Rs 503 crore in favour of the DMK, the ruling party in Tamil Nadu, and Rs 542 crore to the TMC, which rules West Bengal. The BJP got Rs 100 crore.
In the case of Haldia Energy, its purchase of poll bonds surged 16-fold in value after it came into the central agencies’ radar. The company purchased Rs 22 crore worth poll bonds in favour of the BJP (Rs 16 crore) and TMC (Rs 6 crore). But after it faced central action, it bought bonds worth Rs 355 crore, including Rs 175 crore to the TMC, Rs 65 crore to the BJP and Rs 15 crore to the Congress.
A closer look at the top nine companies, which donated more than Rs 100 crore each through electoral bonds:
Future Gaming and Hotel Services Pvt Ltd
* Bonds purchased before ED action 0; after action Rs 1,365 cr
* Redemptions: TMC (Rs 542 cr), DMK (Rs 503 cr), YSRCP (Rs 154 cr), BJP (Rs 100 cr), Congress (Rs 50 cr), SKM (Rs 11 cr), SDF (Rs 5 cr)
In July 2019, the Enforcement Directorate attached company assets worth over Rs 250 crore after initiating a money laundering probe earlier that year. Future Gaming bought electoral bonds for the first time in October 2020 and till October 2021, all went to DMK, YSRCP and TMC. It bought its first electoral bonds for BJP in October 2021 worth Rs 50 crore and again in January 2022 for the same amount.
On April 2, 2022, the ED attached assets worth Rs 410 crore. The company then bought Rs 100 crore in bonds for the DMK. In July 2022, it bought Rs 25 crore worth bonds for TMC and Rs 50 crore for DMK.
Megha Engineering and Infrastructure Limited
* Bonds purchased before action Rs 125 cr; after action Rs 1,107 cr
* Redemptions before action: BJP (Rs 120 cr), Congress (Rs 5 cr); after action BJP (Rs 549 cr), BRS (Rs 201 cr), Congress (Rs 153 crore), DMK (Rs 85 cr), TDP (Rs 53 cr), YSRCP (Rs 37 cr), Jana Sena Party (Rs 14 cr), JD(U) (Rs 10 cr), JD(S) (Rs 5 cr)
In October 2019, the I-T Department raided the offices of the Hyderabad-based company, followed by an ED probe. Earlier that year, the company purchased bonds worth Rs 120 crore, redeemed by BJP. In October 2019, it gave Rs 5 crore to the BJP. The next purchase came a year later in October 2020 with Rs 20 crore to DMK. Its next bond purchase for BJP came in April 2021. Since April 2021, companies in the Megha Group, including Western UP Power Transmission and SEPC Power, have given Rs 544 crore in bonds to the BJP.
The companies in the group bought their first bonds for the then-ruling BRS in Telangana in October 2021. It bought a total Rs 201 crore in bonds for the BRS between October 2021 and July 2023.
Megha Engineering was BJP and Congress party’s top donor, funding them with Rs 669 crore and Rs 158 crore, respectively.
Keventer
* Bonds purchased before action Rs 380.5 cr; after action Rs 192.4 cr
* Redemptions before action BJP (Rs 320 cr), Congress (Rs 30 cr), TMC (Rs 20 cr), SP (Rs 10 cr), SAD (Rs 50 lakh); after action Congress (Rs 91.6 cr), TMC (Rs 45.9 cr), BJP (Rs 26.9 cr), BRS (Rs 10 cr), BJD (Rs 10 cr), AAP (Rs 7 cr), JMM (Rs 1 cr)
The Keventer group of companies donated to the BJP before and after the ED began its probe on alleged money laundering charges in 2019 and to the TMC after the agency’s raids in February 2021. Before the probe, Keventer Food Park Infra and Madanlal Limited donated Rs 380.5 crore, of which Rs 320 crore went to the BJP. Later, within a week of the probe, another group firm, MKJ Enterprises, donated Rs 14.4 crore to the BJP. In February 2021, the ED conducted raids at Keventer’s office as part of its probe in the alleged money-laundering aspect of milk cooperative Metro Dairy’s share transfer. After the raids, in July 2021, MKJ Enterprises donated Rs 22.4 crore to the TMC.
Vedanta
* Bonds purchased before action: Rs 52.65 cr; after action: Rs 347.7 cr
* Redemptions before action BJP (Rs 52.65 cr); after action BJP (Rs 177.5 cr), Congress (Rs 125 cr), BJD (Rs 40 cr), JMM (Rs 5 cr), TMC (Rs 20 lakh)
In mid-2018, the ED claimed it had evidence related to Vedanta Group’s alleged involvement in the bribe-for-visa case involving Chinese nationals. Over three windows in 2019, it gave Rs 52.65 crore to the BJP.
A reference sent by the ED to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) translated into a case of corruption in 2022, following which the ED began a money laundering probe. Over 2022, Vedanta gave Rs 176.5 crore to the BJP – Rs 75.6 crore in January and Rs 100 crore in November. After that, it bought just one bond for BJP, worth Rs 1 crore in November 2023. Vedanta’s gave the BJP a total Rs 230.15 crore, of which 77 per cent was in 2022.
Of the total Rs 400.35 crore bonds bought since April 2019, 57.5 per cent went to the BJP. The next biggest contribution was Rs 125 crore to the Congress and Rs 40 crore to the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), the ruling party in the mining state of Odisha.
Haldia Energy
* Bonds purchased before action Rs 22 cr; after action Rs 355 cr
* Redemptions before action BJP (Rs 16 cr), TMC (Rs 6 cr); after action: TMC (Rs 275 cr), BJP (Rs 65 cr), Congress (Rs 15 cr)
Haldia Energy had been booked by the CBI in 2020 in a case of alleged corruption along with other mining giants for causing a loss of Rs 100 crore to the Mahanadi coalfields. Haldia Energy purchased bonds worth Rs 377 crore between 2019 and 2024. It belongs to RPSG Group that purchased bonds totalling Rs 584 crore through eight companies. Prior to the FIR, the company donated Rs 16 crore to BJP in May and October 2019. It donated Rs 21 crore to TMC between January and October 2020.
During the state Assembly elections in the summer of 2021, the company gave bonds worth Rs 35 crore to the BJP. Prior to the elections, Rs 20 crore was donated to TMC and in July 2021, Rs 17 crore was donated to Congress. After that, it only donated to the BJP in the April 2022 and January 2023 windows for a total Rs 30 crore.
Jindal Steel and Power
* Bonds purchased before action 0; after action Rs 123 crore
* Redemptions BJD (Rs 100 cr), Congress (Rs 20 cr), BJP (Rs 3 cr)
While the company has faced probes by central agencies in the coal blocks allocation case, the ED raided the premises of the company and its promoter Navin Jindal in connection with a fresh case of forex violation in April 2022. The company bought its first electoral bonds in October 2022, and later in 2023. In November 2023, it gave Rs 3 crore to the BJP. It gave Rs 100 crore to the BJD over three tranches across 2022 and 2023.
After April 2022, other companies in the Jindal Group only bought bonds in April 2023. In total, other Jindal Group companies have given Rs 72.5 crore to the BJP since April 2019.
DLF
* Bonds purchased before action 0; after action Rs 170 cr
* Redemptions BJP (Rs 170 cr)
On January 25, 2019, the CBI raided the company’s offices in Gurugram and other locations in connection with alleged irregularities in allocation of land. DLF started purchasing bonds from October 2019 when it gave Rs 25 crore to BJP. In January 2020, it gave Rs 15 crore more to BJP, and a total of Rs 130 crore in further tranches in April 2021 and November 2022.
On November 25, 2023, the ED searched DLF’s Gurgaon offices as part of a money laundering investigation against real estate firm Supertech and its promoters. Over 2023 and 2024, the group did not donate to the BJP.
Yashoda Super Specialty Hospitals
* Bonds purchased before action 0; after action Rs 162 crore
* Redemptions BRS (Rs 94 cr), Congress (Rs 64 cr), BJP (Rs 2 cr), AAP (Rs 1 cr), YSRCP (Rs 1 cr)
Several premises of Hyderabad-based Yashoda Healthcare Services Private Limited were raided by the I-T Department in December 2020. Yashoda Hospitals donated Rs 162 crore in bonds to various parties in October 2021.
Chennai Green Woods
* Bonds purchased before action 0; after action Rs 105 crore
* Redemptions BRS (Rs 50 cr), TMC (Rs 40 cr), Congress (Rs 15 cr)
In July 2021, various offices of Ramky Group, owned by YSRCP Rajya Sabha MP Ayodhya Rami Reddy, were raided by the Income Tax Department. Subsequently, the construction company of the group gave bonds worth Rs 40 crore to TMC in January 2022, Rs 50 crore to BRS in April 2022, and Rs 15 crore to Congress in October 2023, just before it came to power in Telangana where the group’s HQ is located.
Rashmi Group
* Bonds purchased before action Rs 32 crore; after action Rs 58.5 crore
* Redemptions before action BJD (Rs 32 crore); after action BJD (Rs 40 crore), TMC (Rs 18.5 crore)
In July 2022, the ED froze bank deposits of Rs 95 crore after it raided multiple premises of Rashmi Group of companies as part of an investigation into a case related to the loss of Rs 73.40 crore to the public exchequer by “deliberate misdeclaring the facts and misutilising the dual freight policy of the Indian Railways to avail wrongful benefits of lower tariff of freight for transportation of iron ore.”
Two Rashmi Group companies bought bonds worth Rs 100.5 crore between October 2021 and November 2023 — Rs 10 crore in October 2021, Rs 22 crore in January 2022, Rs 5 crore in July 2022, Rs 13 crore in October 2022, Rs 9 crore in January 2023, Rs 15 crore in July 2023, Rs 11.5 crore in October 2023 and Rs 5 crore in November 2023.
Hetero Pharma
* Bonds purchased before action 0; after action Rs 60 crore
* Redemptions BRS (Rs 50 crore), BJP (Rs 10 crore)
In October 2021, the I-T Department detected “unaccounted” income of Rs 550 crore and seized over Rs 142 crore cash after it raided the Hyderabad-based Hetero Pharmaceutical Group. Months after this, in April 2022, Hetero Pharma bought its first tranche of bonds.
Three companies of the Hetero Pharma Group purchased bonds for Rs 60 crore between April 2022 and October 2023. In April 2022, it donated Rs 40 crore to the BRS. Then in July 2022, it gave another Rs 10 crore to the BRS. It gave Rs 10 crore to the BJP in October 2023.
NCC
* Bonds purchased before action 0; after action Rs 60 crore
* Redemptions BJP (Rs 60 crore)
Hyderabad-based Nagarjuna Construction Company (NCC) purchased Rs 60 crore in electoral bonds in October 2019 and October 2022, all redeemed by the BJP. On November 15, 2022, the I-T Department conducted searches on NCC properties for suspected tax evasion.
Divis Labs
* Bonds purchased before action 0; after action Rs 55 crore
* Redemptions BJP (Rs 30 crore), BRS (Rs 20 crore), Congress (Rs 5 crore)
In February 2019, the I-T Department conducted raids at premises associated with Divis Laboratories. The company is one of the biggest API manufacturers in the world. Over two tranches in 2023, it bought bonds worth Rs 55 crore – redeemed by the BRS in July 2023, and the BJP and Congress in October 2023
Welspun
* Bonds purchased before action 0; after action Rs 55 crore
* Redemptions BJP (Rs 42 crore), Congress (Rs 8 crore), BRS (Rs 5 crore)
The Welspun Group purchased bonds worth Rs 55 crore through various sister entities. The first tranche of its purchases was made in April 2019. These purchases came over a year after the I-T Department raided the premises of Welspun Enterprises in July 2017.
Earlier, the company had faced a probe by the ED in connection with a case of forex violations with the agency slapping it with a penalty of Rs 55 crore in 2013.
Welspun was also embroiled in a land allotment-related case in Gujarat over an alleged quid pro quo arrangement with former state bureaucrat Pradeep Sharma. The ED arrested Sharma in connection with the case in 2016. Interestingly, two of the company’s then employees, who were involved in the deal, are now the ED’s witnesses against Sharma, a development that an Ahmedabad court raised objections to in April 2023.
The Welspun group gave Rs 8 crore to the Congress in April and May 2019. Of the total Rs 42 crore redeemed by the BJP, Rs 2 crore was in January 2020, Rs 7 crore in October 2020, Rs 3 crore in April 2022 and Rs 30 crore in November 2022. It gave Rs 5 crore to the BRS in November 2023.
Ramco Cement
* Bonds purchased before action 0; after action Rs 54 crore
* Redemptions BJP (Rs 25 crore), YSRCP (Rs 24 crore), TDP (Rs 5 crore)
In December 2020, Ramco’s shares slipped after the Competition Commission of India (CCI) conducted searches at its premises on allegations of price cartelisation.
Between October 2022 and November 2023, Ramco purchased bonds worth Rs 54 crore. It bought its first bonds in October 2022 – Rs 5 crore for the TDP. Then in December 2022, it gave Rs 15 crore to the YSRCP and then Rs 5 crore again in April 2023. In April 2023, it gave Rs 5 crore to the BJP for the first time. In November 2023, it gave Rs 20 crore to BJP and Rs 4 crore to the YSRCP.
Aurobindo Pharma
* Bonds purchased before action Rs 22 crore; after action: Rs 30 crore
* Redemptions before action BRS (Rs 15 crore), BJP (Rs 4.5 crore), TDP (Rs 2.5 crore); after action BJP (Rs 30 crore)
The ED arrested the company’s director P Sarath Reddy in November 2022 in the money laundering probe related to the now-scrapped excise policy of Delhi. Reddy, along with others, are accused of being instrumental in the alleged cartelisation of licences as well as in moving kickbacks in Delhi’s liquor licensing process.
Prior to Reddy’s arrest, Aurobindo had given to the BJP Rs 3 crore in January 2022 and Rs 1.5 crore in July 2022. However, on November 15, 2022, after Reddy’s arrest, it gave Rs 5 crore to the BJP. A year later, in November 2023, it gave Rs 25 crore to the BJP, after a Delhi court allowed Reddy to turn approver in June 2023. In total, Aurobindo gave Rs 34.5 crore to the BJP.
Aurobindo also gave Rs 2.5 crore to the TDP in April 2021 and Rs 15 crore to BRS in April 2022.
United Phosphorus
* Bonds purchased before action 0; after action Rs 50 crore
* Redemptions BJP (Rs 50 crore)
In April 2019, the Mumbai Police had registered an FIR against the agro-chemical manufacturer for allegedly preparing electronic poll propaganda material for the BJP without the Election Commission’s clearance. In January 2020, the I-T Department raided the company’s premises.
Two years later, the company bought all its bonds in a single tranche – Rs 50 crore to BJP in November 2022.
Rithwik Projects
* Bonds purchased before action 0; after action Rs 45 crore
* Redemptions Congress (Rs 30 crore), JD(S) (Rs 10 crore), TDP (Rs 5 crore)
In October 2018, the I-T Department raided premises associated with the company and its owner C M Ramesh, who was then a TDP MP. The I-T Department alleged the company had siphoned Rs 100 crore. Months later, Ramesh joined the BJP.
Of its total bond purchases of Rs 45 crore – Rs 5 crore was for the TDP in January 2023, Rs 10 crore for the JD(S) in April 2023, and Rs 30 crore for Congress in April 2023. The company has not given any bonds to the BJP.
Shirdi Sai Electricals
* Bonds purchased before action 0; after action Rs 40 crore
* Redemptions TDP (Rs 40 crore)
Last December, the Telangana income-tax wing raided the company’s offices in Kadapa, Andhra Pradesh. In the electoral bond window that immediately followed in January 2024, it gave Rs 40 crore to the TDP, which recently allied with the BJP to fight the simultaneous Lok Sabha and Assembly polls against the ruling YSRCP.
Ultra Tech Cement
* Bonds purchased before action Rs 15 crore; after action Rs 20 crore
* Redemptions before action: BJD (Rs 10 crore), BJP (Rs 2 crore), Shiv Sena (Rs 3 crore); after action: BJP (Rs 20 crore)
In December 2020, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) conducted search operations simultaneously at multiple premises of Ultra Tech Cement. Prior to that, it first bought bonds in October 2019 – Rs 2 crore to the BJP and Rs 3 crore to the Shiv Sena. Months before the searches, it gave Rs 10 crore to BJD in October 2020.
It next donated to BJP only – Rs 10 crore in January 2022 and Rs 10 crore in November 2023. Of its total Rs 35 crore donation, the BJP got Rs 22 crore
Mankind Pharma
* Bonds purchased before action Rs 24 crore; after action 0
* Redemptions BJP (Rs 24 crore)
The Income Tax Department conducted raids on the premises of Mankind Pharma in Delhi and nearby locations over allegations of tax evasion on May 11, 2023. In November 2022, it had given Rs 24 crore to the BJP.
Hero Motocorp
* Bonds purchased before action Rs 20 crore; after action 0
* Redemptions BJP (Rs 20 crore)
Pawan Munjal, chairman and managing director of Hero Motocorp, was raided by the ED in a money laundering case in August 2023. According to the ED, the exercise resulted in the seizure of foreign currency, cash, gold and diamond jewellery, besides documents and digital evidence.
In October 2022, the company had given Rs 20 crore to the BJP.
Micro Labs
* Bonds purchased before action 0; after action Rs 16 crore
* Redemptions Sikkim Krantikari Morcha (Rs 7 crore), BJP (Rs 6 crore), Congress (Rs 3 crore)
In July 2022, the I-T Department conducted simultaneous raids on the Bengaluru-based pharma major Micro Labs. The company’s major product, Dolo 650, made big business during the Covid-19 pandemic and the company emerged as the leader in the sector.
In October 2022, it gave Rs 6 crore to BJP. In November 2022, it gave Rs 3 crore to Congress and in October 2023, Rs 7 crore to the Sikkim Krantikari Morcha (SKM).
Shree Cement
* Bonds purchased before action Rs 7.5 crore; after action 0
* Redemptions Congress (Rs 5.5 crore), JD(U), (Rs 1 crore), RJD (Rs 1 crore)
The I-T Department conducted a survey on Shree Cement in June 2023 in connection with income tax deductions claimed for the period from April 2014 to March 2023. Submitted in December 2023, the survey report estimated the “wrongful deductions” at Rs 8,500 crore for those nine years, indicating an outstanding tax liability, including interest and penalty, of about Rs 4,000 crore.
Company bought bonds in only three tranches – Rs 1.5 crore to Congress in May 2019, Rs 4 crore to Congress in January 2020, and Rs 1 crore each to RJD and JD(U) in October 2020.
Patel Engineering
* Bonds purchased before action 0; after action Rs 6 crore
* Redemptions BJP (Rs 6 crore)
In April 2022, the CBI booked Patel Engineering for irregularities in a hydel project in Jammu and Kashmir. The case was registered following allegations made by former Governor Satyapal Malik. Later in the year, it gave Rs 2 crore to the BJP in December. In October 2023, it gave the BJP another Rs 4 crore.
Som Distilleries
* Bonds purchased before action 0; after action Rs 3 crore
* Redemptions BJP (Rs 3 crore)
In July 2020, promoters of Bhopal-based Som Distilleries were arrested by GST authorities for alleged tax evasion of Rs 8 crore. Just ahead of the Madhya Pradesh Assembly elections last year, the company was raided by the I-T Department. It gave bonds to the BJP in two tranches prior to the I-T raids – Rs 1 crore in July 2023 and Rs 2 crore in October 2023.
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