Mumbai Police books Shanghai Electric officials for cheating, forgery after complaint by Anil Ambani’s R-Infra

Shanghai Electric allegedly made fake guarantee letters of Reliance Infrastructure for the Sasan Ultra Mega Power Plant in Madhya Pradesh and Butibori Power Plant in Nagpur

Shanghai Electric allegedly made fake guarantee letters of Reliance Infrastructure for the Sasan Ultra Mega Power Plant in Madhya Pradesh and Butibori Power Plant in Nagpur
Shanghai Electric allegedly made fake guarantee letters of Reliance Infrastructure for the Sasan Ultra Mega Power Plant in Madhya Pradesh and Butibori Power Plant in Nagpur

Mumbai Police file case against Shanghai Electricals on R-Infra’s complaint

The Mumbai Police’s Economic Offences Wing (EOW) has registered a case against Shanghai Electric, based on a complaint lodged by officials of Anil Ambani’s Reliance Infrastructure, accusing the Chinese multinational power generation and electrical equipment manufacturing company of cheating and forgery. According to the FIR registered with the Vakola police station, between June 2008 and September 2020, Shanghai Electric allegedly made fake guarantee letters of Reliance Infrastructure for the Sasan Ultra Mega Power Plant in Madhya Pradesh and Butibori Power Plant in Nagpur.

“We have registered a case against unknown officials of Shanghai Electric Group and other unknown people under sections 420 (cheating), 465 (forgery), 467 (forgery of valuable security, will, etc), 468 (forgery for cheating), 471 (using a forged document as genuine) and 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC),” said an EOW officer. The case is registered under the provisions of the Indian Penal Code.

The Chinese company allegedly also forged the signatures of R-Infra’s then vice-president, Rajesh Agarwal, and submitted the letter to the Singapore International Arbitration Centre, where a claim of Shanghai Electric for $140 million (Rs.1,200 crore) was pending. R-Infra alleged that the Chinese company used forged and fabricated documents in the arbitration proceedings and, thus, cheated it, said the EOW officer.

Anil Ambani’s firms engaged the Chinese firms for the construction of power companies. In 2008, Sasan Power, a subsidiary of Reliance Infra, started building a power project in Sasan village in the Singrauli district of Madhya Pradesh. Another subsidiary, Vidharbha Industries Power, started work at the Butibori power plant. The Chinese firms had given the contract for equipment supply, erection, construction, and service to Reliance Infra Projects (UK) Limited, which was later renamed Oxagon Enterprises. The Birmingham-headquartered company had subcontracted the work to Shanghai Electric.

Accordingly, Shanghai Electric supplied the boilers, turbines, and generators for the projects from 2008 to 2015. However, the subsidiary companies eventually complained to Shanghai Electric that the products were defective. They then didn’t pay Reliance Infra Projects (UK) and Shanghai Electric for the service. The Chinese company then approached the Singapore International Arbitration Centre with documents, including a letter of guarantee stating that Reliance Infra’s predecessor, Reliance Energy, would pay the bills if the subsidiaries didn’t, said a police officer.

The complaint claimed that neither the board of Reliance Energy had given any powers to Rajesh Agarwal, nor had he taken permission from the Reserve Bank of India for issuing the letters. “Rajesh told us that he had not given any such letter. A writing expert also confirmed that it was not his signature. As Rajesh was working with some other firm, he approached us now,” said the EOW officer.

In March 2024, the Delhi High Court restrained Anil Ambani from selling from selling assets worth $135 million. Shanghai Electric had filed an appeal against a 2022 order by a single-judge bench that denied its request for temporary relief to obtain over Rs.1,200 crore from Reliance Infrastructure.

Anil Ambani’s firms bagged more than 18 billion dollars in loans from Chinese banks for engaging Chinese firms in the Indian Telecom and Power sectors during 2004 to 2013[1]. In 2020, a London Court ordered Anil Ambani to pay 717 million dollars in a case filed by Chinese firms for non-payment of loans.[2]

Reference:

[1] Chinese Banks gave loans more than 18 Billion Dollars to Anil Ambani’s Reliance Telecom and Power firms. This was to buy Chinese equipment – Dec 06, 2019, PGurus.com

[2] London court orders Anil Ambani to pay 717 Million Dollars (Rs.5400 crores) to Chinese banks within 21 daysMay 23, 2020, PGurus.com

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