AAP alleges Rs 3300 cr scam in U'khand

Dehradun, Jan 13: Aam Aadmi Party today alleged that the Harish Rawat government in Uttarakhand had struck a deal with international companies having no digital footprint for an investment worth Rs 3,300 crore, dubbing it as the biggest possible scam ever to have hit the state.

The state government was quick to respond saying no money transaction has taken place and there was no need for make a fuss. Citing official documents, senior AAP leader Anoop Nautiyal said an MoU was signed between the state government and International Oil Corporation (IOC), UAE; Kabul and Hong Kong-based Nuwam Limited for an investment worth USD 500 million on December 9 in New Delhi in the presence of Chief Minister Harish Rawat.

He claimed that it could be the "biggest" scam to have hit the state as the very existence of these companies was suspected because they have no digital footprint. Nautiyal questioned whether "they were just a front for money laundering".

He said five questions have gone unanswered so far including the year when IOC (UAE) and Nuwam Limited were founded, the names and addresses of their directors. objectives of the companies and articles of their association.

Whether they (the companies) had worked on any projects in the country earlier and whether officials from Uttarakhand ever visited UAE or Hong Kong to inspect their projects and style of functioning.

Nautityal demanded that an immediate probe by state or central agencies should ordered into it to unravel the truth and said if the allegations are proved true, the Chief Minister should immediately resign on moral grounds and the MoU with the so called companies be canceled.

He also questioned BJP's silence over the issue. "We ask BJP to wake up from its slumber and make its own inquiries into the fraud," he said.

AAP has put the matter into public domain in the interest of the state, Nautiyal said adding a party delegation led by him met Director Vigilance Ashok Kumar here yesterday to draw his attention to the alleged fraud.

Copies of the memorandum have been sent to Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, Union Minister for Corporate Affairs Nirmala Sitharaman, Director CBI, Uttarakhand Governor K K Paul, Chief Minister Harish Rawat and Chief Secretary Shatrughna Singh, he added.

Reacting to the allegations, Chief Minister's media incharge Surendra Kumar said, "The MoU is in initial stage and no money transaction has taken place. So there is no need for make a fuss, which could affect the investment climate in the state." He said the pact was part of state government's efforts to find possibilities in the state.

PTI