CHENNAI: Distilleries supplying liquor to the Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation Ltd, the liquor monopoly in the state, siphoned off Rs 1,000 crore in connivance with bottle-making companies through inflated expenses and bogus purchases, Enforcement Directorate (ED) said on Thursday. These funds were in turn paid to Tasmac officials as kickbacks to secure more supply orders, it said.
ED sleuths conducted searches for four days from March 6 at the Tasmac head office, depots, distilleries and the respective corporate offices of SNJ, Kals, Accord, SAIFL, Shiva Distillery and at least two individuals.
On Thursday, an ED press release stated: “Bottling companies such as Devi Bottles, Crystal Bottles and GLR Holding, which supply bottles to distilleries, inflated sales figures, allowing distilleries to route excess payments. These payments were later withdrawn in cash and returned after deducting commissions. The financial records of bottling units were manipulated to conceal cash flows and systematic evasion. Unaccounted cash was deliberately generated through inflated and bogus expenses and subsequently utilised by distilleries for purposes leading to huge profits.”
ED said it gathered evidence about the manipulation of transport tenders and bar licence tenders of Tasmac. “The liquor corporation, which pays Rs 100 crore annually to transporters, awarded the contract even though there was just one firm in the final bid,” the release said.
ED suspects the winning bidder didn’t obtain the requisite demand draft before the application deadline. Similarly, bar licences were awarded to those who didn’t have a GST number and PAN, it said.
The searches were based on FIRs registered by DVAC from 2016 to 2021 on alleged offences such as Tasmac outlets collecting amounts above the actual MRP, distilleries offering kickbacks to Tasmac officials for supply orders and senior Tasmac officials resorting to collecting bribes from retail Tasmac outlets and for transfer and posting of Tasmac staff.
ED, however, did not clarify the period of the alleged malpractices. “The role of employees and associates related to Tasmac, distilleries and bottle-making companies, along with other key associates in the illicit affairs related to Tasmac, are being probed,” it said.
