New Delhi [India], December 2 : The Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) on Monday conducted search operations at three companies engaged in the manufacturing of electric vehicles, the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) said in a release.
According to the release, these cases arise from the alleged fraudulent availing of subsidies amounting to Rs 297 crores cumulatively by all three companies under the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles (FAME) II scheme of the Ministry of Heavy Industries (MHI).
The three companies, for claiming subsidies, had allegedly shown compliance with the applicable guidelines to the MHI, which was subsequently found to be incorrect and false.
Upon investigations by SFIO, it is revealed that several restricted parts under the PMP guidelines were either directly or indirectly imported from China, thereby flouting the PMP guidelines under FAME-II, the release added.
During the search operations, evidence like digital data, books, and other material has been recovered, the MCA added in the release. It added that further investigation is in progress.
The FAME II scheme was launched in the year 2019 to promote electric and hybrid vehicles in India. The FAME-II scheme and the Phased Manufacturing Programme (PMP) guidelines stipulated the manufacturing of some key components in India for the vehicle to be eligible for a subsidy under the scheme.
SFIO is a multi-disciplinary organisation under the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, consisting of experts in the fields of accountancy, forensic auditing, law, information technology, investigation, company law, capital markets, and taxation for detecting and prosecuting or recommending for prosecution white-collar crimes/frauds. The SFIO investigates and prosecutes complex corporate frauds assigned under section 212 of the Companies Act 2013.
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