Anti-Corruption Branch names Moily, Ambani, Deora in FIR

Petroleum Minister Veerappa Moily, Reliance Industries Chief Mukesh Ambani, former Union Minister Murli Deora and retired Director General of Hydrocarbons V K Sibal were on Wednesday named in an FIR by Anti-Corruption Branch of Delhi Government in the Reliance gas issue.

The FIR by the ACB was registered a day after Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said the agency has been told to probe their alleged collusion over hike in prices of natural gas from KG basin.

Names of Moily, Ambani, Deora and Sibal figured in the FIR, sources told PTI.

. . .

Kejriwal on Wednesday wrote a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, requesting him to keep in abeyance decision to hike gas price from April 1 till the probe in the case is completed.

The Delhi Chief Minister on Tuesday said ACB was directed to probe the case based on a ‘common complaint’ filed by former Cabinet Secretary TSR Subrmanian, former Navy Chief Admiral R H Tahiliani, eminent lawyer Kamini Jaiswal and former Union Secretary EAS Sarma.

. . .

Quoting from the complaint, the Chief Minister had said the impact of the hike in gas price would cost the country a minimum of Rs 54,500 crore (Rs 545 billion) every year and allow RIL to make a future windfall profit of Rs 1.2 lakh crore (Rs 1.2 trillion).

On Tuesday, RIL had termed the ordering of FIR against it as shocking and described the complaints that were used to base the action as baseless and devoid of merit or substance.