Reliance in the dock: CBI may file case against the company

The Central Bureau of Investigation may register a case or multiple cases against Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) for alleged irregularities in its operations in the Krishna-Godavari (KG) basin, Mint newspaper reported today.

"The matter is at the inquiry stage and no information can be shared with the media," said Dharini Mishra, spokeswoman for the agency, qouted the newpaper. A spokesperson for RIL declined to comment said the paper.

[caption id="attachment_87674" align="alignleft" width="380" caption="A spokesperson for RIL declined to comment. Reuters"][/caption]

According to three CBI officials, none of whom wanted his identity to be disclosed, said the case will name officials belonging to the Directorate General of Hydrocarbons (DGH) and the petroleum ministry, the paper said.

Preliminary inquiries are on in the issue, propped up by the report of the Comptroller and Auditor Genral of India (CAG) that found irregularities in RIL's operation of the KG-DWN-98/3 block.

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"The preliminary inquiry against RIL and others is in final stages and very soon a case will be registered," the paper qouted one of the officials as saying.

The paper spoke to the three officials separately. All of them confirmed that they had evidence against the company and it was only a matter of time before the cases were filed against RIL.

Some of the issues CBI is investigating in its initial inquiry are:

a) DGH being lenient in imposing penalty on RIL for not sticking to work commitments.

b) DGH forcing state-owned firms into forming an alliance with RIL for rig sharing in a way that largely benefited RIL.

c) DGH and petroleum ministry officials allowed RIL to raise capital expenditure in the KG D6 block.

Although the CAG did not specifically mention the escalation of prices by RIL, it did mention it briefly in its report.

Former petroleum minister Murli Deora said he was unaware of the issue, the paper reported.