Rs. 6,000 crore coal scam | More proof; Arappor seeks to nail Adani-Tangedco

CHENNAI: Arappor Iyakkam, an NGO, submitted additional evidence to the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) on Thursday in connection to a complaint originally filed in 2018 concerning a Rs 6,000 crore coal import scam allegedly involving Adani Global PTE Ltd and Tangedco officials and has sought FIR against them based on the evidence.

The documents, obtained through the Right to Information (RTI) Act and whistleblower disclosures, aim to demonstrate that Adani Global PTE Ltd purchased coal with a low calorific value and sold it to Tangedco at a rate higher than the prevailing market price. In August 2018, Arappor filed the initial complaint based on a report from the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG), which highlighted discrepancies between the calorific value test reports of imported coal by the CAG and those provided by Tangedco.

The Arappor has now bolstered its claims with documents released by the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP). These documents include the invoice from a specific ship, MV Kalliopi, which departed from Indonesia in December 2013 carrying coal for Tangedco.

According to Arappor convener Jayaram Venkatesan, Adani Global sourced the coal from Pt Jhonlin in Indonesia. The invoice passed through the British Virgin Islands and Singapore before reaching Tamil Nadu. "The firm Supreme Union Investors in the British Virgin Islands issued an invoice to Adani Global for $33.86 per metric tonne for 69,925 metric tonnes of coal, listing a gross calorific value of 3,800 Kcal/kg. However, in the invoice generated by Adani Global for Tangedco, for the same shipment with the same loading date, the gross calorific value was stated as 5,976 Kcal/kg," he explained.

He also accused the third-party testing agency GeoChem of manipulating the calorific value on behalf of Adani Global, as the same agency tests the calorific value in both Indonesia and Tamil Nadu, which Tangedco accepted without scrutiny.

"Tangedco agreed to procure imported coal at prices higher than the prevailing market rate. Despite a declining trend in international coal prices, Tangedco consistently paid at least $15 per metric tonne more. For this one shipment on the MV Kalliopi, Tangedco incurred a loss of about Rs 25 crore," he remarked.

Furthermore, Arappor submitted RTI documents showing how the utility awarded contracts to companies like Adani at $87 per metric tonne in July 2014, without justification for paying more.

In contrast, states like Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka finalised prices at nearly $70 per metric tonne, even when Indonesian market prices were significantly lower. "The money lost on five million metric tonnes of coal from the 2014 tender alone will exceed Rs 500 crore," he added.