NEC used a UN plan to ship material to Iraq

According to an investigation report by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), NEC had struck a deal worth $230,000 directly with the Director-General of the Ministry of Interior, Iraq, for supplying 200 tonnes of bleaching powder in January 2001. However, to bypass authorities here, NEC officials strung together a tale of how they had quoted as per a tender issued by the Jordan-based Mohammed El-Khatib. The rouse worked and the goods were exported from Mumbai to Um-Qasr port near Basra in Iraq. The UN authorities at New York never received any receipt for this shipment and by the time their inspectors inspected the ports, the goods had been duly delivered.

The report also states that NEC’s general manager Rajiv Dhir concurred with these details during his interrogation. In fact, he went on to say that the contracts were signed, a letter of credit opened but these never had the approval of UN authorities. Not just this, the company had foxed Indian authorities to believe they were genuinely working under the UN programme. While they signed 11 contracts with different Iraq ministries valued at $25 million after the bleaching powder shipment, they never had the UN approval.

Further, NEC, owing to its connections with Jordanian firms was able to bag several contracts. Many reputed Indian firms like Balmer Lawrie and Bharti were contracted to undertake survey of key infrastructure plants in Iraq.

In its chargesheet filed in the Patiala House Courts here, the DRI has stated that to facilitate large volumes of trade in varied items, NEC’s owner Hans Raj Shiv floated a company in Dubai, Indjo Trading. According to information supplied by the consulate-general of Dubai to investigating agencies, Hans Raj Shiv had changed his name to Sayed Harat Hans Raj to smoothen operations.