Thursday, March 28, 2024

Electoral Bond Scam VI: Megha Engineering, the untold story

 A look inside the Fakeer's Jhola : Part 2


Those who follow "Electoral Bond Data Reviews" in Independent Internet based News Websites of India, already know that Megha Engineering & Infrastructure Limited is one of the top buyers of Electoral bonds and is the top donor of Electoral Bonds to BJP. People know that for past 2 weeks!

But I promised you UNTOLD STORY and you will get the real story unfolded here:

BUT WHO ARE MEGHA ENGINEERING AND INFRASTRUCTURE LIMITED?

So let's get a snapshot of what Zuabacorp Corporate Information Directory tell us about Megha Engineering & Infrastructure Limited

 


" Megha Engineering & Infrastructures Limited is a Public incorporated on 07 June 2006. It is classified as Non-govt company and is registered at Registrar of Companies, Hyderabad. Its authorized share capital is Rs. 15,000,000,000 and its paid up capital is Rs. 1,560,100,000. It is inolved in Building of complete constructions or parts thereof; civil engineering "

 18 years into existence, but this "Limited by shares" company is not listed in any stock market. This is precisely why no news report could get quote its "share price", which has to be considered at par, Rs 10.

But who are its directors? I don't want to make typos in the names of highly politically linked rich businessmen.. so I present another screenshot from Zuabacorp report. 


What about its borrowing details:

We find 40 records of charges or borrowings for MEIL totalling Rs  35505,45,44,786.00 (that is 35505 crore plus) and even if we discount for the charges closed by virtue of pledged assets or financial restructuring, it still amounts to a mammoth Rs. 14345,64,69,258.00  (14345 crore ) .

However Bribe paid to Political parties has helped their debt restructuring because 5 years back even the restructured charges amount was Rs.  24767,50,69,258.00 !!! That is more than 24767 crore..

 


But Who gave them such mammoth loans?

Government controlled PSU Banks like State Bank of India, its fully owned subsidiaries like SBICap Trustee Company Limited, State Bank of Hyderabad, State Bank of Bikaner & Jaipur, State Bank of Patiala, State Bank of Travancore, State Bank of Indore and among Private Bankers; Axis Bank, Vistra ICTL and itself Bankrupt IL&FS.. among others..

Currently, clearly open charges are held by SBICAP Trustee Limited (14286,05,00,000) , Axis Bank and guess what, Vedanta Limited.

Let's hear Megha Engineering and Infrastructure Limited's (MEIL) side:

Thankfully these companies have their websites and in their "Corporate Profile" section they do state a lot and I quote:

"Launched as Megha Engineering Enterprises (MEEs) in 1989, the company executed drinking water and irrigation projects in the mid-1990s in undivided Andhra Pradesh, later expanding to various states in India in the 2000s.
With time, the company transformed into MEIL in 2006, enhancing its global presence and completing projects with unmatched quality standards."

This part I have no issues with.... But they also claim: 

"Headquartered in Hyderabad, India's leading multi-sector company Megha Engineering and Infrastructures Limited (MEIL), has made its mark across 20 countries – the USA, Italy, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the Netherlands, Belarus, Venezuela, Peru, Brazil, Argentina, Lesotho, Zambia, Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Nigeria, Libya, Bangladesh and Jordan– apart from India."

This part I strongly contest and I'll prove that this isn't the true picture. But let us continue with their own words in the Corporate profile section, where they talk about their subsidiary companies:

"The company's subsidiaries – Olectra Greentech Ltd (OLECTRA), Evey Trans Private Limited, ICOMM, Drillmec S.p.A, Petreven S.p.A, MFGIL, WUPPTCL and SEPC, also have achieved remarkable success." 

I have taken liberty of highlighting those subsidiaries which also bought Electoral Bonds with Bold letters and their Italian acquisitions by underlining.. By the way, WUPPTCL is the same "Western UP Power Transmission Company Limited" that you might have heard about in "Electoral Bond" news.

About their Italian acquisitions, MEIL website sells half-truths:

"The company has also become India's first to gain orders for indigenous manufacturing and set up hydraulic oil rigs. Through its hydrocarbons division, the company is working on delivering a total of 47 state-of-the-art oil rigs to ONGC. In addition, it has acquired the world-renowned Italy-based companies Drillmec S.p.A and Petreven S.p.A.
Drillmec S.p.A manufactures rigs, heavy machinery, and equipment to extract oil from the seabed and on the surface (offshore and onshore). The company has manufactured and supplied over 500 heavy rigs worldwide to various oil extraction companies.

Petreven S.p.A provides operations and management services to more than 20 advanced oil rigs."

This company also has another official website, meil.in .. where they have even given Modi Government Minister Hardip Singh Puri posing with meil officials:


Drillmec SPA of Italy is indeed a great example of "Make in India" and "AtmaNirbhar Bharat" ( meaning : Self Reliant India).

WHAT IS THE REALITY about Drillmec and Petreven:

Drillmec SPA and Petreven SPA are two subsidiary companies of Trevi Group of Italy, known and listed at Milan's stock exchange as Trevi-Finanziaria Industriale S.p.A.


Actually Drillmec was called Soilmec initially and opened its branches in Texas, USA and thereafter in various other US states.. they then became engaged in oil drilling business and opened Petreven in Venezuela. Ven is PetreVen stood for Venezuela, this is for BJP and MEIL to note.. in case, they want to state that "Petreven is a fine example of AtmaNirbhar Bharat". Pretreven logo also highlights "TREV" part as a link to its Parent group, Trevi.

Political turmoil and US sanctions meant Trevi-Finanziaria could not operate in Venezuela as Petreven SpA and their investments capsized and followed by Subprime crisis and PIIGS crisis left Trevi group face bankruptcy and had to sell these companies cheap to MEIL Global Holdings BV for 116.4 million Euros as Italy was going through Covid19 Pandemic as well.


Now I had quoted from MEIL website, where they say, Petreven operates from 20 countries! Petreven website says that they operate in 9 countries and does not even say that they don't have an office in India... Oh My God!

Moreover, Petreven.com website puts its copyright year at 2020 .. meaning it wasn't even updated since its sale to MEIL.

And Drillmec? Yes, MEIL got  the Texas, Oklahoma offices but the crown jewels must be Tax-haven offices in Panama.. right.

After all, neither Cesare Trevisiani, nor Trevi group has any issues with having shell companies in Tax Havens as we find them mentioned in almost all ICIJ expose on Tax havens.


And this is the Houston Head Office of Drillmec Inc, this is also the head office of all Drillmec offices in US and Western Hemisphere.. 


Even Auto-parts store, next to it, is larger than this world famous in "TECHNOCRAT INDUSTRIAL ESTATE BALANAGAR HYDERABAD" Texan office. Don't hate me or Google maps for its size. 😉

So what are ONGC getting from Drillmec , well, a look at trading websites show that Used or Second Hand Drillmec Oil Rigs are available for sale from Texas to Oman. The proper term for them is REFURBISHED


 So neither Drillmec nor Petreven were ever an oil exploration giant as MEIL claimed and current Government of India agreed with them. Besides these two entities past records when they were not part of MEIL, only exposure MEIL had in the hydrocarbon sector was to lay "Gas Pipelines" in India.

That is Megha Engineering & Infrastructure LTD extent of expertise in the field of hydrocarbon and this is also their extent of telling "half-truths" to Indian public and Indian Government, who were happy as long as "Electoral Bonds" and other benefits were pouring to ruling party's coffers.

 Somebody needs to tell, Minister Hardip Singh Puri that all Oil Rigs are "Automatic" otherwise they would be called "Hand-pumped Tubewell" .. Doing photoshoot and tweeting about it, especially for a dubious company selling refurbished oil rigs to India's own ONGC (who will suffer major downtime because of high maintenance) is not the Minister's job.

Note that, these companies are sold to a shell company of Megha Engineering and Infrastructure Limited, MEIL Global Holdings BV and not to parent company itself. If it were indeed a Global Holding company then MEIL would be Dutch Company and not an Indian outfit. Let's look at Dutch Company Registration data:


We find an Amsterdam address and this company has applied the "Non Mailing Indicator", meaning they do not have a full time office there and by definition, that's a shell company.

Other Government Projects that MEIL group has executed or supposedly executing besides the ONGC order:

Roads & Tunnels:

  • Zojija Tunnel 
  • constructing part of the railway tunnel for RVNL (Rail Vikas Nigam Limited) between Rishikesh and Karnaprayag in Uttarakhand, connecting the Chardham – the four popular pilgrim centres in the Himalayas. 
  • part of the Vijayawada Bypass road between Chinnaoutupalli and Gollapudi in Andhra Pradesh.
  •  In Maharashtra, it is laying a part of the Mumbai-Nagpur Expressway.
  •  A six-lane expressway between Chengala & Neeleshwaram and Neeleshwaram & Taliparamba in Kerala as part of the Bharatmala Pariyojana scheme. 
  • A part of 4-lane Delhi-Amritsar-Katra Greenfield Expressway connecting Patankhot, Gurdaspur and Hiranagar in Punjab.

IRRIGATION 

  • The Gajwel water grid was executed as part of Mission Bhagiratha, which was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Komatibanda on August 06, 2016.
  •  the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project, a project that both CAG and National Green Tribunal both found riddled with discrepancies and flaws.
  •  The Uddanam drinking water project, being executed by the company in Srikakulam district of Andhra Pradesh.
  •  Sathegala Drinking Water Project for rural areas of Ramanagara district of Karnataka.
  •  Pattisam Lift Irrigation Scheme in Andhra Pradesh
  • Bhakta Ramdas Lift Irrigation Project in Telangana
  • Purushottapatnam LIS project and Muchumarri Irrigation Project in Andhra Pradesh.
  • Other Government projects in Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and even one at Tanzania. 

 Power Sector 

  •  400-kV substation project in Andhra Pradesh for its client PGCIL (Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd)
  • In February 2018, MEIL commissioned the WUPPTCL (Western Uttar Pradesh Power Transmission Corporation Ltd) project, which consists of the 765-kV AIS substation, funded partly by Government run POWER FINANCE CORPORATION LIMITED loan of  3771.72 Crore. 
  • Executing Ratle Hydroelectric Power Project for the Ratle Hydroelectric Power Corporation Ltd (RHPCL),a JV of Government of India and Government of J&K.
  • Coal-fired power plant at Tuticorin as SEPC.

 Gas Pipelines:

 Renewables and Electric Vehicles (as Evey Trans Limited)


MEIL has a subsidiary called Olectra Greentech who has a tie-up with Chinese Electric Vehicle Manufacturer BYD for importing Electric buses and they have been winning order after order from mostly BJP ruled state's transport transport ministries for procuring buses.

Another MEIL subsidiary ( Also Electoral Bond Purchaser ) EVEY Trans Limited operates these buses because that startup supposedly has expertise in operating EVs.


 Their website eveytrans.com boasts of only 750 chargers installed and only 1500+ buses plying all across India. That's some expertise only Electoral Bonds can garner for a startup.

Let's Summarise the Root Question:

WHO ARE MEGHA GROUP?

  • They started with Drinking water Pipelines and irrigation work.
  • Then they ventured into Tunnelling business and even got Gas Pipeline laying contracts and became highly indebted. 
  • Inspired by their horizontal boring contracts and getting a foothold in Government's preferred service provider list, they bought defunct and bankrupt companies in Italy to specialise in Vertical Drilling and selling refurbished products to ONGC.
  • Inspired by high returns in Hydrocarbon & Power sector,, they ventured in Coal-fired Power Generation as SEPC at Tuticorin and Power Transmission as Western UP Power Transmission Company Ltd at Ghaziabad . 
  • Perhaps they felt guilty inside about polluting Indian Environment by bringing out and burning so much fossil fuels, they tied up with a Chinese company who makes Electric buses in China through an outfit called "EVEY TRANS PVT LTD",  which Government Ministers would again find as an example of "Make in India" and "Self Reliant India"..!

 IN Part 2, in a separate blogpost, we will look inside Megha Engineering practices, we would look into the chronology of Electoral Bond dispensations, Government Order wins and debt restructuring.

Stay awake, stay alert for that update.

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