 "Reliance Power")
Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) has issued a showcause notice to Anil Ambani-owned Reliance Power (RPower), seeking an explanation as to why criminal action should not be taken against the company for submitting “fake bank documents” through a bank that has no branch from which the documents originated.
“It is hereby intimated that SECI has issued showcause notices to the entities, namely Reliance Power and Reliance NU BESS, seeking an explanation as to why SECI should not initiate criminal proceedings against them, in view of the fraudulent and forged actions,” said the agency in a public notice dated November 13. SECI operates under the aegis of the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy.
This follows SECI’s recent decision to bar RPower from participating in any of its future tenders for three years after the company submitted a fake document for a tender issued by the state-run entity in June this year.
“Subsequent to the debarment notices issued by SECI to the entities, namely Reliance Power and Reliance NU BESS, due to the submission of a fake endorsement of a foreign bank guarantee (BG) as part of its bid submission, it was later discovered that the BG submitted by Reliance NU BESS (known as Maharashtra Energy Generation at the time of bid submission) was also fake,” SECI’s latest notice noted.
Earlier this month, this paper reported that RPower had submitted invalid bank documents twice for the same tender, using an email ID later flagged by State Bank of India as fake. SECI had not responded to Business Standard’s emailed queries at that time.
In its latest notice, SECI revealed that its investigation found the BG to be fraudulent, as the foreign bank that allegedly issued it has no branch in the Philippines which was cited in the documents.
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“The bidder had submitted a BG purportedly issued by FirstRand Bank, through a branch that was said to be in Manila City, Philippines. After a detailed investigation, the Indian branch of the bank confirmed that no such branch exists in the Philippines, leading SECI to conclude that the BG submitted was a fake document,” the notice said.
The agency also highlighted that the company’s actions demonstrated malafide intent.
“The repeated submission of a fake BG along with its counterfeit endorsement is deemed a deliberate act by the bidder, intended to vitiate the tendering process and secure the project capacity through fraudulent means. This conduct demonstrates a malafide intent to manipulate the outcome,” the notice continued.
SECI’s notice also implicated the parent company.
“Furthermore, it is concluded that the actions of the bidder implicate the parent company, which had provided its financial strength to the bidder, enabling it to meet the qualification requirements for the tender, making the parent company equally accountable in this matter,” it said.
In response to the showcause notice, RPower, in an exchange filing, said, “The company and its subsidiaries acted bonafidely and have been victims of fraud, forgery, and a conspiracy to cheat.”
The company attached an excerpt of the first information report (FIR) it filed against a third party that arranged their BG but did not reveal its name.
It further said that the company filed a criminal complaint with the Economic Offences Wing of Delhi Police against the third party on October 16, 2024, based on which an FIR was registered on November 11, 2024. The matter is under investigation, and due process of law will follow, the company said.
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