Have you met an Undesirable Contact Man?

It's a “secret” list prepared by the CBI called the UCM List—the name explains it, the list of Undesirable Contact Men. These...

It’s a “secret” list prepared by the CBI called the UCM List—the name explains it, the list of Undesirable Contact Men. These are individuals who are regularly monitored by the agency and with whom government officials are not meant to “interact, socialise,” or enter into any contracts with.

The CBI doesn’t make the list public—to avoid “unnecessary litigation and embarrassment”—but The Sunday Express has obtained a copy of the latest UCM list. It has 22 names along with the agency’s covering letter sent last month to Secretaries of all Ministries and departments.

A comparison with earlier UCM lists, also with The Sunday Express, shows that prominent New Delhi-based defence dealers earlier figured on the blacklist. Of the 22, 13 are alleged middlemen based in Delhi; three are from Chennai and Mumbai each, two from Uttar Pradesh (Noida and Ghaziabad) and one is from Haryana (Gurgaon).

Two of them figure in CBI chargesheets too.

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According to the list, these men “operate” in departments like the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) and the Customs, Excise and Gold Administrative Tribunal (CEGAT).

In the case of some, as many as eight Departments (areas of operation) have been listed.

In one case, a middleman is shown to be active in departments as diverse as the Delhi Police to the Ministry of Civil Aviation and in another, from the Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) to the Oil and Natural Gas Commission (ONGC).

The omission of defence dealers is surprising given that N Vittal, then Central Vigilance Commissioner, had referred to these dealers and the UCM list in his report on defence deals.

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For the first time, the CBI has, in writing, expressed its unhappiness over how it isn’t getting the cooperation it needs from other Ministries on preparing the list.

The present CVC, P Shankar, says he finds the listing of middlemen a ‘‘useful’’ process but also feels more collaborative effort was needed.

He says,‘‘Making the UCM list should be a joint effort between the CBI and Ministries. It is a good system that needs to be better enforced.’’

“It has been observed,” the CBI’s note says, “that over the years, sufficient inputs are not being received from Ministries. It is therefore requested that the Ministries may kindly be directed to share with CBI any information about the activities of persons who come to adverse notice so that their names are also considered for inclusion in the list of UCM for effective vigilance working.’’

How to deal with UCMs, CBI’s advice

		The CBI has specified dos and don’ts for all Ministries and Departments on dealing with the 22 men on its blacklist. Year 2005 advisory states: • Don’t accredit anyone mentioned in the list, don’t allow them to sponsor any Govt projects • Tell all officers, even in foreign missions, not to deal with them • No socialising, accepting gifts or hospitality. • CBI to keep an ‘‘unobtrusive check’’ on their activities • All departments should send information on their dealings with officers directly to CBI Director. • UCM list should not be sent to Reception Offices. • “Selectively convey” the names to heads of Departments and PSUs, keep it confidential

Ritu Sarin

Ritu Sarin is Executive Editor (News and Investigations) at The Indian Express group. Her areas of specialisation include internal security, money laundering and corruption. Sarin is one of India’s most renowned reporters and has a career in journalism of over four decades. She is a member of the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) since 1999 and since early 2023, a member of its Board of Directors. She has also been a founder member of the ICIJ Network Committee (INC). She has, to begin with, alone, and later led teams which have worked on ICIJ’s Offshore Leaks, Swiss Leaks, the Pulitzer Prize winning Panama Papers, Paradise Papers, Implant Files, Fincen Files, Pandora Papers, the Uber Files and Deforestation Inc. She has conducted investigative journalism workshops and addressed investigative journalism conferences with a specialisation on collaborative journalism in several countries. ... Read More

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