An accusation of bribe hoping to sell Tatras to the Indian authorities have become headlines in the Indian newspapers.

March 30. Defence public sector unit Bharat Earth Movers Limited (BEML) and Tatra and Vectra Limited Thursday dismissed allegations that former Defence Intelligence Agency chief Lt Gen (retired) Tejinder Singh had offered Rs 14 crore bribe to army chief Gen. V.K. Singh to clear an order for 600 Tatra trucks for the army, saying they had no such need to pay bribes as they were the only vendors for those vehicles.

BEML chairman and managing director VRS Natarajan told reporters that his public sector defence manufacturer was the only firm that produced this class of vehicles under licence from Tatra and Vectra and hence did not need to bribe anyone for getting orders.

“We are the nominated nodal agency for the defence ministry to manufacture this class of trucks and supply to the army,” Natarajan told reporters on the sidelines of the four-day defence exposition that kicked off at the capital’s exhibition venue Pragati Maidan.

Echoing similar sentiments, Czech Tatra’s chief Ravi Rishi too said they would not approach any officer of the government for orders, as they had a contract directly with the BEML that has been licensed by his company to manufacture the trucks in India.

“The truck is manufactured by BEML with licence from us. We only supply some spares and using some indigenous spares, BEML builds the truck. We do not sell the trucks directly to the army or supply it to the defence ministry. It is the job of BEML,” Rishi said.

The army had recently named Tatra as the firm for which Tejinder Singh was lobbying in a press release. The army headquarters had issued the release to counter allegations that the army chief had ordered the snooping of Defence Minister AK Antony and other security top brass at the peak of his age-related row.

The army release had claimed that the reports were appearing in the media at the behest of Tejinder Singh, whose bribe offer of Rs 14 crore to clear orders of 600 Tatra trucks was spurned by the army chief.

http://www.mid-day.com/news/2012/mar/300312-BEML-Tatra-dismiss-graft-charges.htm

CBI lookout notice for Vectra chief

The CBI today issued a restraint order to prevent Vectra group chairman Ravi Rishi, under the scanner for alleged irregularities in the Rs 5,000-crore Tatra-BEML deal, from leaving India. All airports, exit points and major ports have been alerted to ensure that the London-based NRI businessman does not leave the country.

Sources said the CBI is likely to call Rishi, 57, for questioning again, with the agency finding credible evidence in the documents to suggest that he violated procurement guidelines.

The CBI has reportedly found that Rishi, named as an accused in its FIR, misrepresented the company while bagging the contract to supply Tatra trucks to the Army. Vectra is a majority stakeholder in Tatra.

The agency has taken custody of files related to the Tatra-BEML deal from the Ministry of Defence (MoD) and will now start examining defence and officials of the state-owned Bharat Earth Movers Limited.

CBI officials are also seeking details of a complaint filed against Rishi in the Czech Republic in 2011. It was alleged that Rishi had purchased the Tatra trucks from the Czech company at a cheaper rate, and supplied them to BEML at a higher price.

Meanwhile, the CBI said they are still waiting for a detailed complaint from Army Chief General V K Singh after his allegation that Lt Gen (retired) Tejinder Singh had offered him a bribe for clearing a consignment of the “sub-standard” Tatra trucks.

Lt Gen Singh has refuted the allegations and has filed a defamation case against the Army chief and some other senior officers.

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/tatra-row-cbi-lookout-notice-for-vectra-chief/931232/

After Tatra, Vectra turns BEML pillar

Chandan Nandy, Bangalore, April 3, 2012, DHNS:

Deal skeletons: Defence PSU signed MoA with Kamaz for heavy trucks. In a repeat of its dealings with Tatra Sipox (UK) Ltd for the order of all-weather Tatra trucks for the Army, the BEML entered into a memorandum of agreement (MoA) with another joint venture company owned by Ravinder Kumar Rishi, the chief of UK-based Vectra, now being investigated by the CBI.

According to documents accessed by Deccan Herald, BEML entered into a “strategic alliance” with Kamaz Vectra Pvt Ltd, a joint venture between Kamaz of Tatarstan republic, which is a part of the Russian Federation, and Rishi-owned Vectra Ltd in February 2010 to “capture the prevailing markets in defence, paramiliatry and police forces as also in mining sector through “mining tippers.”

It brings into question why BEML involved the participation of Vectra even though Kamaz Inc claims to be “one of the largest manufacturers in Europe and leader in the cargo vehicle market in Russia and the CIS countries such as Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Belarus.” While the Tatarstan company claims to manufacture a “wide range of cargo vehicles, including tractors, side-board trucks and tippers,” Vectra also claims it manufactures cranes, concrete mixers, tipping trailers, excavators, truck bodies and cabins.

Enquiries revealed that Kamaz Vectra Ltd came into being just seven months before the MoA was signed by BEML Chairman and Managing Director V R S Natarajan and Kamaz Director General Denis E Trifonoff. According to a copy of Kamaz Vectra Ltd’s balance sheet, which is in the possession of Deccan Herald, Kamaz Vectra Motors Ltd, formerly Tatra Vectra Motors Ltd was originally incorporated on July 9, 1997 under the name of Tatra Udyog Ltd.

Subsequently, for inexplicable reasons, the name was changed to Tatra Trucks Ltd on August 19, 2003, and to Tatra Vectra Motors Ltd on January 5, 2006. The manufacturing unit remained at 7 and 8, Sipcot, Phase 1, Hosur Industrial Area, in Tamil Nadu. It is reliably learnt that in 2011 Kamaz Foreign Trade Company, Russia, acquired a 51 per cent stake, following which Kamaz Vectra Motors Ltd was set up on July 2, 2099. According to company documents, Kamaz Vectra manufactures and assembles dumpers, chassis and tractors.

The MoA with BEML, however, says that Kama Vectra “will develop and supply 4×4 Stallion type of vehicles for on-road application, satisfying the specifications of the defence forces, paramiliatry and police forces.” For the past three months production has come to a halt with an employees’ strike that has been on since January, 2012.

When contacted, Nataranjan refused to respond to any question, saying: “I am not going to answer to anything. Wait for some time. We are eagerly waiting for a call from the (agency) CBI.” However, Ministry of Defence (MoD) sources wondered why BEML signed an MoA with a “middleman” — Vectra — without directly inking the deal for tippers, cranes and truck chassis with the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) Kamaz.

After Army chief Gen V K Singh objected to an order for completely knocked down (CKD) kits of 788 Tatra trucks, a deal which BEML had signed with Tatra Sipox (UK) Ltd, it has now come to light that Rishi’s company failed to deliver the vehicles within the agreed 18 months. The “huge” Rs 632 crore order, bagged from the MoD in February, 2010, was for the delivery of 498 8×8, 278 6×6 (with winch) and 12 6×6 (without winch) trucks to the Army. In this respect, the MoD had made a 50 per cent advance payment of Rs 315.83 crore to BEML. However, it is not known whether BEML had made any payments to Tatra Sipox and whether the company will now return the money.

While the Vectra chief has gone on record saying that his company will not deliver any of the Tatra trucks, he has also accused the Army chief of “ulterior motives”.

http://www.deccanherald.com/content/239425/after-tatra-vectra-turns-beml.html

http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/NewDelhi/Tatra-case-BEML-flouted-deal-terms/Article1-837568.aspx

VECTRA background story:

New Delhi: The Tatra truck deal is at the heart of army chief General VK Singh’s allegations that he was offered a bribe. The all terrain Tatra trucks, the army’s lifeline, have been in use for over a decade, but the General is understood to have been opposed to the continuation of the deal.

In addition to alleging they were substandard, the army chief has said he was offered a bribe by Lt Gen Tejinder Singh on behalf of Tatra and Vetra, suppliers of the vehicles to defence PSU BEML.

The first agreement was signed in 1986 with Omnipol a Czech company. In 1992, after the bifurcation of Czechoslovakia, BEML started buying trucks from Tatra Sipox UK.

Documents with CNN-IBN show that Tatra Sipox UK was a London based trading company, not the original manufacturer, breaking the first rule of procurement which says – you must buy from the manufacturer.

Its shareholder included an NRI, Ravi Rishi, and Joseph Majesky. The latter, according to Slovakian papers, faced jail term for siphoning funds.

Apart from that, when BEML signed the MoU with Sipox, the firm was registered for providing ’spiritual, religious and social services.

The procurement from Sipox faced its first hurdle in 2003 when the Equipment Branch raised objects. In the letters, copies of which are with CNN-IBN, the officer asked:

- Who the original manufacturer of the truck was?

- What was the source of procurement?

- What was the price at which it was being procured?

- What was the role of Tatra Sipox UK?

Within two months, as the documents show, the letter treated cancelled.

Things got a little messier in 2003 when BEML signed a 10-year agreement with Tatra Sipox UK to increase the scope of the relationship. The defence PSUs claim was, since the bifurcation of Czechoslovakia, Tatra Sipox UK, the marketing arm had become a major shareholder in the Czech Reoublic based MS Tatra. And since BEML had been dealing with the marketing arm for all technical arrangements, they needed to ink a joint venture in national interest.

Surprisingly, Tatra Sipox UK records of that time don’t seem to match the claims.

Company details accessed by CNN-IBN as late as 2004 show Tatra Sipox UK is a company based out of Richmond Surrey, but they have no overseas details.

According to them, there were no branches for Sipox UK and no previous names existed for the company for the last 20 years.

NRI Ravinder Rishi was a shareholder of Tatra Sipox UK who later went on to form the company Vectra with which too BEML formed a joint venture. Ironically, some of the allegations had already found their way in Czech media where the original manufacturer was facing charges of causing losses to the parent company because it was providing knocked down kits to India through a British intermediary – Sipox first and Vectra later.

Lately, Chiefs have had to sign on the defence deal every year. The last time this happened was in February 2010 by General Deepak Kapoor. The red flag was raised by General V K Singh after he was allegedly offered a bribe by Lt Gen Tejinder Singh. Sources tell CNN-IBN that some of the details have been crucial to the Army Chiefs refusal to continue with the truck deal.

http://ibnlive.in.com/news/the-inside-story-of-the-tatrabeml-deal/245137-3.html