CWG OC Director General questioned by ED

Wed, Oct 27 10 10:22 PM

New Delhi, Oct 27 (PTI) The Enforcement Directorate today questioned CWG Organising Committee Director General V K Verma for marathon ten hours in connection with its probe into alleged financial irregularities in organizing the sporting extravaganza. Official sources said Verma was grilled at length on the alleged irregularities in the Queen''s Baton Relay held in London last year and also on issues concerning overlays work. Speaking to the media after his questioning at the ED Zonal office here, Verma said it was a "general" discussion and no individual contracts were discussed. "I had a very general and very comprehensive discussion on everything about the Organising Committee: its organisation, its structure, when the OC came into being and how has it progressed in the last 4-5 years", he said. Asked further about specific contracts relating to the QBR, he said "no individual contracts were discussed. ED wanted to know what are the responsibilities at financial level, contracts can be awarded by whom and at what level." Sources said Verma, is likely to be questioned again once the answers that he has written down to the Directorate''s questions are analysed. Sources said Verma, who came to ED office at 11.15AM, brought relevant papers relating to the contract given to a UK firm, A M Films, for QBR. ED has registered a case under Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) in this regard. ED had in August this year questioned suspended Joint Director General T S Darbari, a close aide of OC chairman Suresh Kalmadi, and Deputy Director General Sanjay Mohindroo in this regard. British authorities had referred to the Indian High Commission a matter regarding A M Films, a little-known London-based company, to which a huge sum of money was transferred through the Royal Bank of Scotland around three months back. The authorities in London have already begun a probe into the dealings of the firm. The Organising Committee had suspended Darbari, Mohindroo and Joint Director General (Accounts and Finance) M Jaychandran on August 5 for their alleged role in irregularities in the Queen''s Baton Relay in London.

Source: Published>