CBI Charges Ex-Chief Of Hydrocarbons In 2005 Corruption Case

Vinod Kumar Sibal, former Director General of Hydrocarbons – the regulatory body under the petroleum ministry -- has been chargesheeted by the Central Bureau of Investigation in an alleged corruption case. He has been accused of awarding a project of seismic survey to explore and develop oil and gas fields to a US-based company in 2005 for kickbacks and causing a huge loss of public money.

In 2011, the CBI had registered a case against VK Sibal and others. Investigation revealed that in 2005, Sibal awarded the contract for carrying out seismic survey to US-based GX Technology without any auction or competitive open bidding process.

The project was to survey a total basin area of 16,174 km at the rate of $2,166 per line km and the total cost of the project was $35.5 million.

The Central agency has alleged that GX Technology sold the survey data at the rate of $ 3,869 per km and by 2008, the firm made over $63 million while giving a mere $7 million as royalty to DGH.

The CBI has contended that the ONGC, which undertook a similar survey between 2005-09, incurred a total cost of just $12 million and sold the data for $9 million while GX Technology billed DGH $35.5 million for the survey.

CBI has accused Sibal of conspiring with GX Technology and causing a loss of over Rs 400 crore.

The Central agency has further alleged that the US company, through its Indian representatives Sujata Venkataraman and Naresh Sethi, paid huge amounts as bribe to secure the contract and also paid for the expenses of Sibal's daughter's education in Switzerland.

The CBI has arraigned both Venkataraman and Sethi as accused in its chargesheet against VK Sibal.

Sibal was also probed by the central agency over allegations of showing undue favour to Reliance Industries in awarding Krishna-Godavari basin and causing a huge loss to public exchequer. The Preliminary Enquiry was closed in 2013 for "lack of evidence".