The SFIO (Serious Fraud Investigation Office) probe was ordered by the Ministry last year into the affairs of Niira Radia-led PR firm Vaishnavi, which used to handle media relations of various Tata group firms and Unitech . While SFIO is yet to submit its final report on the case, its Mumbai office is said to have communicated to its head office here that certain 'dubious' transactions disguised as realty transactions took place between Tatas and Unitech.
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Among others, the report is also said to have suggested prosecution of five senior management personnel at Tatas, as also against four top Unitech executives and one at Vaishnavi. Asked to comment on the matter, Corporate Affairs Minister Sachin Pilot said his ministry has not received a report from SFIO as yet and he has sought a status report from the agency.
"The ministry has so far received no such report. I have asked the agency (SFIO) to come and brief me as to what the status of the report is," Pilot told reporters on the sidelines of a CII event here.
In reply to queries in this regard, a Tata Sons spokesperson said: "The Tata group has comprehensively addressed questions from all Government agencies and fully cooperated with all authorities in their investigations, including the SFIO.
"The group has not seen any SFIO report so far; as such, we are not in a position to address any specific questions relating to any such report. We stress that our group is committed to the highest standards of ethics and business conduct."
A spokesperson for Unitech also said that "the Tata-Unitech transaction was a legitimate and bona fide business transaction between two real estate companies." Earlier in the morning, Corporate Affairs Secretary Naved Masood said that the report is still awaited from SFIO. "The report (is) awaited," Masood said when asked about the findings of SFIO probe, and refused to elaborate further.
As per the SFIO Mumbai report, it is suspected that a Rs 1,700-crore realty deal between Tatas and Unitech in 2007 could have been meant for funding Unitech's telecom licence issued in January 2008. Tata group's dealings with Vaishnavi entities are also reportedly under scanner.
A Vaishnavi spokesperson denied any role of the company in any commercial land transactions between Tata and Unitech and questioned the veracity of any "conclusive report" in the investigations related to its companies.
Radia hit headlines in 2010 after her leaked conversations with various politicians, businessmen, journalists and others became public.
Reacting to the reports, Unitech shares plunged by over 4 per cent to a low of Rs 15.50 this morning at the BSE, before finally closing at Rs 15.70, 3.4 per cent down from its previous close.
In his statement, Unitech spokesperson further said: "In fact, contrary to what is being alleged, Tata Realty is in advance stage of completing a real estate development on the captioned land which is being marketed as 'Tata Primanti'.
"The Tata-Unitech transaction has been extensively investigated by several agencies including the CBI, and no irregularity has been found in this transaction as per the CBI presentation before the JPC quoted by the media.
"Further, none of our companies are/have been under any investigation by the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO).
"This fact can be independently corroborated from the list of companies under investigation and companies already investigated by the SFIO during the last 3 years, as provided by Sachin Pilot, Minister of State (Independent Charge), Ministry of Corporate Affairs in response to" various Parliament questions.
"Consequently, the question of any SFIO report in respect of Tata-Unitech transaction does not arise because the
SFIO under the law is not empowered to suo motu undertake any investigation," Unitech said, while adding that the SFIO appears to be at present investigating the Vaishnavi Group of Companies as per the minister's reply to a Lok Sabha query on April 25, 2013.
In his statement, the Vaishnavi spokesperson said: "We are not aware of any report by the SFIO in the matter stated by you. In fact, we doubt the existence of any authentic conclusive report in the investigations related to our companies as we continue to cooperate in the ongoing process of investigations.
"Various former senior executives and Directors of our companies have already given statements on various aspects related to the company operations and its client mandates.
"We categorically deny any presumption or suggestion on our role in any commercial land transaction between the Tata Group entity and Unitech. To the best of our knowledge, some parcel of the land has already been developed pursuant to the conclusion of the transaction.
"It is extremely disturbing to note that the trend of leaking selective, questionable and motivated 'pieces of information' continues unabated by corporate vested interests."
"We have been the target of such vilification campaigns over the last many years which has defamed and maligned our reputation causing irreparable damage," the spokesperson said, while adding that the primary objective of such reports seems to be to create smoke screens.
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