(Trinidad Express) Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley said yesterday he was “totally unaware” that billionaire Indian industrialist Naveen Jindal is currently before the courts in India fighting corruption allegations.
On Monday, the Prime Minister and some Government members, who included Foreign Affairs Minister Dr Amery Browne, Agriculture Minister Kazim Hosein, Tourism Minister Randall Mitchell and Minister in the Ministry of Works and Transport Richie Sookhai, met with a team from India, which included Jindal, at the Diplomatic Centre, Port of Spain.
Jindal is chairman of Jindal Steel and Power Ltd.
Several photographs of the meeting were posted on social media.
A post on the Prime Minister’s Facebook page said that Jindal Steel and Power is one of India’s leading business houses, with a substantial presence in steel, mining, power and infrastructure.
“Chairman Jindal’s visit today is a result of Prime Minister Rowley’s recent trip to India, where he met with several business leaders and invited them to explore investment opportunities in Trinidad and Tobago,” the post said.
“Mr Jindal is interested in the potential of the Petrotrin refinery and this subject formed part of the discussions at today’s meeting.”
It added that another delegation of Indian businessmen is expected to arrive in Trinidad and Tobago next week.
Last week, Rowley shared that a delegation was coming from India, which included hoteliers, and he declared that a hotel will be built at Rocky Point, Tobago, as he noted the potential economic impact Sandals Resorts International could have had on the sister island’s economy.
Forbes report
Following the PM’s meeting with Jindal on Monday, a link to a Forbes news story dated June 12, 2013, was widely circulated on WhatsApp and social media.
The report said that India’s Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) filed a case against Jindal and former coal minister Dasari Narayan Rao for allegedly misallocating mining rights.
The report noted that Jindal was at that time the head of Jindal Steel and Power and a Member of Parliament with the ruling Congress Party.
The Forbes report said that the federal investigator booked Jindal for what it claims were kickbacks paid by him to the ex-minister, in exchange for being granted mining rights for coal.
It has alleged that a year after Jindal’s firm secured a coal bloc in the eastern state of Jharkand, it invested US$430,000—the alleged payoff—in a company owned by Rao, who was coal minister between 2004 and 2008 when the mines were allocated.
As part of its investigation, the CBI searched Jindal’s home and his company’s offices, the report said.
It added that the coal scandal—known as “coalgate” in India—started in March 2012 when the federal auditor disclosed in a report that 155 coal acreages were allocated without auction, resulting in windfall gains to the firms that secured those coal blocks.
Jindal Steel and Power was among the companies named as having snatched a benefit estimated at more than US$4 billion, Forbes reported.
Rowley responds
The Express shared the link with the Prime Minister and asked if he was aware and whether this issue has the potential to affect any business deals.
Rowley responded: “I am totally unaware. We have an open invitation out to attract foreign investment. We are getting good response but we have not conducted any forensic investigations, but we are confident that we will be able to deal with all circumstances according to our own standards of behaviour in keeping with the laws of Trinidad and Tobago.”
Permission to travel
According to an article in the Economic Times, dated January 23, 2024, Jindal was required to seek permission from the Indian court in order to travel.
The report said that a special judge allowed Jindal’s application to travel to several countries—Mozambique, Italy, Spain, Czech Republic, United Kingdom, USA and Venezuela from February 1-20, 2024.
The report said that the judge noted Jindal had travelled abroad several times in the past and returned to India to face trial within the stipulated period. The judge directed Jindal to furnish a fixed deposit of Rs1 crore (US$133,000) and not to tamper with any evidence or try to influence any witness in any manner.
In March this year, Reuters reported that Jindal joined India Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
He went on to contest a seat in the elections as a BJP candidate, which he won. Reuters reported that India’s Opposition parties say many of their members have been forced into joining the BJP out of fear of corruption investigations, which the BJP denies.
Modi was elected as Prime Minister for a third consecutive time in the nation’s recent general election.
