INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
NEW DELHI: The CBI on Thursday conducted searches at the facilities of former financing secretary Arvind Mayaram after filing an FIR against
him and a UK-based company for alleged corruption in the supply of special colour shift security thread for Indian bank notes, officials
said.The CBI, in its FIR, alleged that Mayaram, the UK-based business De La Rue International Ltd and unknown officials of the finance
ministry and RBI hatched a criminal conspiracy to extend excessive favour to the firm.The firm alleged that Mayaram as financing secretary
approved an prohibited three years extension to an ended contract with the company for providing unique colour shift security thread
without taking any necessary security clearance from house ministry or notifying the then finance minister, they said.The extension granted
by Mayaram was presumably the 4th, the FIR said.The CBI signed up the FIR under IPC sections associated to criminal conspiracy and cheating
and provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act
It was followed by searches at Jaipur and Delhi home of the 1978-batch retired IAS officer, days after he had signed up with the Bharat Jodo
Yatra of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.The agency had signed up a preliminary enquiry in 2018 on a complaint from the Chief Vigilance Officer
of the Department of Economic Affairs in the Ministry of Finance.Based on its findings, the CBI has actually converted it into a routine
case against Mayaram, now economic advisor to Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot.The agency, in its FIR, stated that the Centre had
actually participated in a five-year arrangement with De La Rue International Ltd for the supply of exclusive colour shift security thread
for Indian bank notes in 2004
The agreement was extended four times till December 31, 2015
The firm has alleged that the then financing minister had authorised the Reserve Bank of India to go into exclusivity arrangement with the
suppliers of unique security features on behalf of the federal government of India, which was signed with De La Rue on September 4, 2004
The arrangement with the company particularly pointed out that the business had actually established an unique India specific green to blue
colour shift clear text MRT device readable security thread for usage in Indian banknote paper as a security function and for which the
business holds exclusive production rights.The CBI discovered that the business had actually declared the patent in India on June 28, 2004,
which was published on March 13, 2009, and was granted on June 17, 2011, which reveals at the time of the arrangement, it did not have a
Enquiry has further revealed that De La Rue made false claims of holding patent and they did not have any patent for their colour shift
thread at the time of presentation in 2002 and their selection in 2004, the CBI has alleged.The company has declared that the exclusivity
contract was signed by PK Biswas, executive director, RBI, without validating the patent claim of De La Rue
Enquiry has actually likewise exposed that the contract agreement did not have any termination clause, it said.Both RBI and the Security
Printing and Minting Corporation of India Ltd (SPMCIL) sent their reports about the non-possession of the patent by the business on April
17, 2006, and September 20, 2007, respectively.Mayaram never apprised the same to the then financing minister, the CBI has alleged.Despite
non-possession of the patent, the company kept getting duplicated extensions till December 31, 2012, it stated
Enquiry even more revealed that on May 10, 2013, the matter was brought to the notice of Arvind Mayaram, as Secretary, Economic Affairs,
that the contract arrangement with De La Rue had actually ended on December 31, 2012; for that reason, extension can not be approved
legally, the FIR alleged.It stated Mayaram approved another three-year extension of an expired contract on June 23, 2013, overruling the
truth that an extension can not be approved without getting compulsory security clearance from the Ministry of Home Affairs, the FIR
alleged.No approval was drawn from the then finance minister on the issue while all previous 3 extensions-- from September 4, 2009, to June
30, 2011, from July 1, 2011, to December 31, 2011, and from January 1, 2012, to December 31, 2012, were authorized by the financing
Enquiry has likewise revealed that Anil Raghbeer, signatory of Contract Agreement from De La Rue, has actually received Rs
8.2 crore from overseas entities apart from the remuneration paid by De La Rue in 2011, the FIR even more declared
