Nation: Urea Scam: Netting the Big Fish

India Today, December 14, 1998
Dec 14, 1998

UREA SCAM
Netting the Big Fish

Prabhakar Rao's arrest comes almost three years too late as vital evidence to nail him might be lost for good.

By Harish Gupta

At a time when sons of political fathers are on the rise, this was an ignominious fall. Last week, P.V. Prabhakar Rao, the youngest son of former prime minister P.V. Narasimha Rao, was finally arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a surprise raid at his Mehboobnagar hideout near Hyderabad.

For almost three years, the ED had been chasing Prabhakar for his alleged involvement in the Rs 133 crore urea scam. But he evaded arrest despite the ED getting non-bailable warrants issued against him. It was a comic situation: investigating agencies "struggled" to trace him though Prabhakar was provided Special Protection Group (SPG) cover. The SPG argued that its job was to protect the VVIP and disclosing his whereabouts would be a violation of the Blue Book.

This charade would have continued had a Special Court in Delhi not rapped the CBI on November 17 for failing to prosecute him. In September, the CBI had filed charge-sheets against nine persons: C.K. Ramakrishnan, CMD of National Fertilisers Limited (NFL), D.S. Kanwar, NFL's executive director, M. Sambashiva Rao, Indian agent of the Turkish company Karsan, B. Sanjeeva Rao, nephew of Narasimha Rao, Prakash Yadav, son of former fertilisers minister Ram Lakhan Singh Yadav, businessman Mallesham Gaud and three Karsan officials. Curiously, the CBI had found nothing against Prabhakar. It was only when an incensed court directed the CBI to file a status report that the ED traced Prabhakar. He was sent to 14-day judicial custody by the magistrate.

The scam originated in September 1995 when NFL floated a global tender for the supply of 2 lakh tonnes of urea. In March 1996, the NFL under Ramakrishnan, who was appointed CMD by the Rao government bypassing established procedures, advanced the entire amount of Rs 133 crore to Karsan without any bank guarantee. It is still a mystery as to how the RBI/SBI waived stiff conditions attached to such deals. In fact, the Swiss bank which received an invoice for making payment to Karsan, raised certain objections and sent it back. But there was no response either from NFL or the RBI and the SBI.

The company took the money but did not deliver the goods. When the matter was referred to the CBI in May 1996, it did not even touch Prabhakar though he had been identified as the "hidden hand" in the deal. Despite several leads and testimonies of prosecution witnesses, the CBI says there was no evidence against Prabhakar. ED officials, however, say that vital evidence may have been lost due to the inordinate delay in arresting him.

The investigating agencies now have the arduous task of bringing the money back from Switzerland. Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee raised the subject of remitting the frozen $7 million back to India with the visiting Swiss President recently and got a positive reply. But a major part of the Rs 133 crore is untraceable as it was transferred to Turkey by Karsan executives. Though they are being prosecuted in India, it is doubtful that the entire amount will ever be recovered.

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