ED filed a Complaint against Kalmadi for Financial Irregularities in the Queen’s Baton Relay

The Enforcement Directorate on 2 February 2012 filed a complaint against former Organising Committee chairman Suresh Kalmadi for alleged financial irregularities in the conduct of the Queen’s Baton Relay (QBR) of the Commonwealth Games.  The ED also named him for violations under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (Fema).

The ED named five other officials, including former secretary general Lalit Bhanot, director general V K Verma, deputy director general Sanjay Mahindroo, joint director general (accounts and finance) M Jaychandran and A K Mattoo.

The agency alleged that Kalmadi and his associates were responsible for foreign exchange contraventions to the tune of about Rs 4.8 crore in the conduct of the Queens Baton Relay (QBR) held in 2009 in London.

Kalmadi, was named for providing his signatures in his individual capacity and allowing unauthorised payments of more than Rs 8 crore for the conduct of the QBR and also side-stepping five other service providers in favour of AM Films and Cars Limited.

The agency alleged that Kalmadi and other OC officials inflated the cost of the contract and made payments in foreign exchange above the authorised limit sanctioned by the Reserve Bank of India. The alleged OC officials then tried to cover up their act by forging the e-mails and when the matter went out of hand, Kalmadi sacked senior OC officials, including Darbari.

The ED also complained that the Organising Committee violated its own charter for the event and hired luxury vehicles like Mercedes S-class, BMW-7 series thereby violating the authorisation for hiring only mid-size cars for ferrying guests, athletes and dignitaries.