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Richa Mishra

New Delhi , Nov 9

THE Ministry of Company Affairs (MCA) is examining the Volcker Committee report to ascertain whether there were any violations by the Indian companies named in it that required scrutiny under the Companies Act.

The Volcker Committee had alleged that kickbacks had been paid to the Saddam Hussein Government by companies across the globe to obtain contracts under the oil-for-food programme.

Speaking to Business Line, the Minister for State (Independent Charge) for Company Affairs, Mr Prem Chand Gupta, said: "I have asked my officers to go through the report and see whether there is anything worth looking at by the Ministry from the Company Law point of view."

On the timeframe involved, he said: "The preliminary exercise would take a fortnight."

This comes close on the heels of the Revenue Department stating that it may look into the books of those Indian companies (about 130) that have been named in the report to see whether they had violated any tax laws.

Asked whether the Ministry has already initiated any investigations against these companies, a senior Company Affairs official said that there was unlikely to be any investigation or scrutiny before the preliminary exercise is over.

Some of the Indian companies figuring in the Volcker report are public sector entities, STC Ltd and Rites Ltd.

The report also named Reliance Industries Ltd, Godrej & Boyce Manufacturing, Kirloskar Brothers, Kirloskar Oil Engines, Ranbaxy Laboratories, Thermax, Ajanta Pharma, Arihant Industries, Dishman Pharmaceuticals, Cosmos International, United Phosphorus, Dr Reddy's Labs, Jain Irrigation Systems, and Mohan Exports, in the private sector.

The Government has instituted a judicial probe headed by former Chief Justice, Mr R.S. Pathak, which would investigate into facts relating to the allegations against Indian entities.

The former UN Under-Secretary, Mr Virender Dayal, would conduct a simultaneous fact-finding exercise on the allegations.

The Enforcement Directorate has also started investigations against those who have been linked to paying kickbacks in the oil-for-food programme.

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