Consultancy firm employee involved in document leak: CBI

CBI officers probing leaks and sale of confidential government documents from the ministries of finance and commerce and industry to corporate houses claim to have unearthed the involvement of a PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) employee in sourcing information from the department of economic affairs.

“Investigation has also revealed the alleged role of a representative of M/s PricewaterhouseCoopers in obtaining information from the department of economic affairs, which is being probed,” a CBI spokesperson said.

Leaks from the department were already under the scanner of the CBI with the arrest Thursday of Lalaram Sharma, a section officer in the department. CBI sources said the PwC employee’s alleged role had cropped up during interrogation of the accused already arrested in the probe.

Along with Sharma, the CBI had arrested Mumbai-based CA Khemchand Gandhi and Ashok Kumar Singh, an under secretary in the department of disinvestment. CBI said government documents were allegedly sold by Singh and Sharma to Gandhi, who passed them on to corporate houses.

On Friday night, the CBI arrested Ram Niwas, an assistant in the Foreign Investment Promotion Board section of the Finance Ministry for allegedly leaking FIPB documents. The CBI also arrested Paresh Chamanlal Budhadev, a partner in Mumbai-based law firm Chitale and Associates, for destruction of evidence.

The CBI Saturday produced Budhadev before a court in Mumbai, which granted the CBI transit remand for bringing him to Delhi. The CBI also produced Niwas before the court and secured five-day of custody.

When contacted, PwC said, “Our manager met CBI officials today in connection with the FIPB applications filed by our clients and the official communication that we have exchanged with FIPB in this regard, in the normal course of business. Necessary clarification as asked for were provided.”

Source:: Indian Express