India aims to sign an initial pact with Iran to settle oil trade in rupees

India aims to sign an initial agreement with Iran this month to settle all their oil trade in rupees through UCO Bank, two Indian government sources said.
“We have to do some paper work. It should be signed as early as possible. We are aiming for this month,” one of the sources said.

India, which got a waiver from the latest tougher US sanctions against Tehran on Monday, used a similar mechanism in the previous round of sanctions but settled only 45 percent of the payments in rupees.
Iran used the funds to import goods from India, a move that had helped boost India’s exports to Tehran.
Paying for Iranian oil in rupees will also strengthen the Indian currency against the US dollar.
Indian refiners will make payments in rupees for purchases of Iranian oil made since September, one of the sources said. Iran grants a 60 day credit period to Indian refiners.
The sources also said the US wants India to restrict its monthly purchases of Iranian oil to 1.25 million tonnes, or 9 million barrels, during the waiver period from November.
The United States re-imposed sanctions on Monday to choke Iran’s oil and shipping industries, while temporarily allowing top customers such as China and India to keep buying crude from the Islamic Republic.
India’s oil ministry was not immediately available to comment.
Indian Oil Corp, India’s top refiner, and Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd placed an order on Tuesday with National Iranian Oil Co to buy a total of 9 million barrels of oil in December, industry sources said.
IOC would buy 6 million barrels of Iranian oil, while MRPL would import 3 million barrels, the sources added.
Spokesmen for MRPL and IOC declined to comment.

Rs 6.21-bn UCO Bank fraud: Enforcement Directorate files case under PMLA

The Enforcement Directorate has registered a case of money laundering in connection with an alleged Rs 6.21 billion loan fraud involving UCO Bank, officials said on Sunday.
The agency has filed a criminal complaint under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) after taking cognisance of a CBI FIR registered last month.

The CBI booked a former chairman and managing director (CMD) of UCO Bank, Arun Kaul, and others in the case. Besides the bank CMD, the CBI booked realty firm Era Infra Engineering India Ltd., its CMD Hem Singh Bharana, two chartered accountants, and Pawan Bansal of Altius Finserve Pvt. Ltd. among others.
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The ED will probe if the alleged defrauded bank loans were used to create tainted assets by way of money laundering.
The CBI alleged that the accused persons in pursuance of a criminal conspiracy had defrauded UCO Bank to the tune of about Rs 6.21 billion by diversion and siphoning off the bank loans, they said.
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According to the CBI, Arun Kaul, who was the CMD of a Kolkata-based bank between 2010 and 2015, allegedly facilitated the accused company in obtaining the loans.
The loan was not utilised for the sanctioned purpose, the CBI alleged.
The ED will also work to identify assets of the accused so that they can be attached, if required, during the course of investigation, they said.
In its complaint, the bank alleged that two loans were issued to the company in 2010 Rs 2 billion in March and Rs 4.5 billion in October.
ALSO READ: UCO Bank plunges 14% after CBI books former CMD in Rs 6.21 billion fraud
The Rs 2 billion loan was issued for repayment of high cost debt to Central Bank of India, Punjab National Bank and IFCI. It was found that the company did not utilise the amount for the purpose for which it was disbursed and diverted the funds.
No amount was used to repay the dues of Central Bank of India and Punjab National Bank, while only Rs 5.9 million was repaid towards dues of IFCI, according to the CBI FIR, now used by the ED.
The chartered accountant (CA) in this case -- Pankaj Jain -- dishonestly and fraudulently did not mention the details of utilisation of term loan in the end-use certificate, the CBI alleged.
In the case of the Rs 4.5 billion loan, too, the funds were utilised for purposes other than stipulated in the sanction and the end-use certificates given by the CA were intentionally ambiguous and against the fact, it alleged.
The account was declared NPA as on July 7, 2013 by the bank and the present balance as on December 31, 2017 is Rs 737 crore," the CBI FIR alleged.
Both the CBI and the ED, the two central agencies, are investigating a number of such bank fraud cases under the respective laws they enforce.

Rs 6.21-billion fraud: CBI books former UCO Bank CMD Arun Kaul, others

The CBI has booked former UCO Bank CMD Arun Kaul and others for allegedly cheating the bank to the tune of Rs 6.21 billion, officials said on Saturday.
The agency is carrying out searches at 10 locations - eight of them in Delhi and two in Mumbai, in this connection, they said.

It was alleged that the accused people in pursuance of criminal conspiracy defrauded the UCO Bank to the tune of Rs. 6.21 billion (approx) by diversion and siphoning off the bank loans, they said
Besides Kaul, others booked by the CBI are Era Engineering Infra India Ltd. (M/s EEIL), its CMD Hem Singh Bharana; two chartered accountants -- Pankaj Jain and Vandna Sharda --, Pawan Bansal of M/s Altius Finserve Pvt. Ltd., and other unidentified persons, they said.