ED Finds Rs 1,000 Crore Unaccounted Cash in TASMAC Operations

New Delhi, Mar 13 (PTI) The Enforcement Directorate Thursday said it has found "multiple irregularities" in the operations of TASMAC that has monopoly over liquor trade in Tamil Nadu, including "manipulation" in the tender processes and "unaccounted" cash transactions worth Rs 1,000 crore through distillery companies.

The federal agency claimed in a statement that it got "evidence" suggesting these corrupt practices after it raided the employees, corporate offices of distilleries and plants of the Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation Limited (TASMAC) on March 6.

ED sources, on the day of the raids, had said the searches were also conducted against "key associates" linked to prohibition and excise department minister Senthil Balaji.

The ED said it found "incriminating" data related to transfer postings, transport and bar licence tenders, indent orders "favouring" few distillery companies, excess charge of Rs 10-30 per bottle by TASMAC outlets, with the "involvement" of TASMAC officials, during the searches.

It said this data shows "manipulation" in TASMAC's transport tender allocations where a "glaring" issue was the "mismatch" between the KYC details of the applicant and the demand draft (DD), suggesting that the final successful bidder did not even obtain the requisite DD before the application deadline.

Tenders were awarded despite having only a single applicant in the final bid. TASMAC paid over Rs 100 crore annually to transporters, as per the ED.

In the case of allocation of bar licence tenders by TASMAC, "evidence" related to "manipulation" of tender conditions was found including a "glaring" issue of applicants without any GST/PAN numbers and KYC documentation being allotted the final tenders, it said.

The agency said it found records to show "direct" communication between distillery companies and higher TASMAC officials, exposing efforts to secure increased indent orders and "undue" favours.

The searches also found "large-scale" financial fraud involving distillery companies like SNJ, Kals, Accord, SAIFL, and Shiva Distillery and bottling entities such as Devi Bottles, Crystal Bottles and GLR Holding, the ED alleged.

The distilleries "systematically inflated" expenses and "fabricated" bogus purchases, particularly through bottle-making companies, to siphon off over Rs 1,000 crore in "unaccounted" cash.

These funds were then used as "kickbacks" to secure increased supply orders from TASMAC, as per the ED.

In the case of the bottling companies, the ED found that they "inflated" sales figures, allowing distilleries to route excess payments, which were later withdrawn in cash and returned after deducting commissions.

"This collusion between distilleries and bottling companies was done through manipulation of financial records, concealed cash flows, and systematic evasion.

"The findings confirm a network where unaccounted cash was deliberately generated through inflated and bogus expenses and subsequently utilized for purposes leading to huge profits," the agency alleged.