NTPC, BHEL trash bribery allegations in US

Facing allegations in the US that their officials were bribed by an American firm for business, state-owned National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) said on Wednesday that it had given no contract to the company in question, while another public sector firm, Bharat Heavy Electricals (BHEL), declined comments in the absence of any specific details.

"For the Sipat project (in Chhattisgarh), NTPC has not placed any direct order on the said company. NTPC is also not a party in the contract between any of the manufacturers and its equipment suppliers, i.e. The said party Control Component Inc," the PSU said in a statement here.

"It is a general statement with no specific details, BHEL can comment only when full details (as put up by Control Component to the US court) are accessible," a BHEL official said.

According to documents submitted by the US department of justice before a court, officials of Indian PSUs like BHEL and NTPC appeared beneficiaries of bribes doled out by Control Components, a California-based valve company, to bag lucrative contracts mostly for tools used in power plants.

Prominent among the companies mentioned in the court documents are BHEL, Maharashtra State Electricity Board, Haryana State Electricity Board, NTPC and Bhilai Electric. (See: DoJ sues US firm for bribing Indian PSU executives for power contracts)

Debunking the reports, NTPC said, "NTPC takes strong exception to its name being highlighted."