Unmesh Gujarathi
Sprouts Exclusive

Sprouts Special Investigation Team has got the information that a company which has a dubious record of tax evasion leading to revenue loss worth crores to the government and is involved in many suspicious deals may get a big contract of ‘Yashobhoomi’. This may result in sub-standard quality of the project work.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has decided to create Asia’s biggest exhibition and convention center – India International Convention and Expo Centre (IICC) – aptly named ‘Yashobhoomi’ in New Delhi. He recently inaugurated the first phase of the facility. This state-of-the-art facility, constructed at a cost of Rs 5,400 crore, promises to redefine the landscape of meetings, incentives, conferences, and exhibitions (MICE) on a global scale.

Foodlink F&B Holdings Private Limited firm is lobbying hard to get the contract for some work in Yashobhoomi and accordingly, there is a strong possibility that the company may get a big contract for the project. However, Sprouts Special Investigation Team has confirmed information that the work, transactions and deals of the company are not transparent but dubious and corrupt. If the said corrupt company gets the contract for the project, a big question mark will be raised over the quality of the prestigious ‘Yashobhoomi’ project. As a result, considering the welfare of the nation, Sprouts will send a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in this regard.

Sprouts Special Investigation Team has received detailed information with evidence about this. As per the information, the company has Sanjay Manohar Vazirani and four others as members of its Board of Directors. The company was registered on October 28, 2015.

High-profile clients on GST radar

The Mumbai-based company provides catering services for marriages and other programmes to high-profile industrialists, political leaders and Bollywood stars from India and abroad. The company has served Isha Ambani, Anand Piramal, Akash Ambani, Sholka Mehta, Ranveer Singh, Deepika Padukone and many other high-profile clients till date.

The company claims that its specialty is to provide catering facilities for big events to high-profile people. In fact, there are many suspicious deals worth crores done by the company. Vazirani is an expert in evading taxes. Till date, his company has evaded taxes worth hundreds of crores resulting in huge financial losses to the government.

The Goods & Services Tax (GST) Department’s intelligence wing has started an inquiry of this tax-evader, corrupt company. Not only this, the department has sent letters to the high profile clients of the company who have taken catering services of the company. Through these letters, demand for detailed information about the events in which the company has provided services has been made. Sprouts Special Investigation Team has received this reliable information. Company director Sanjay Vazirani was not available for comments despite consistent efforts to contact him.

Demand for ban on Advertorials

Interestingly, prestigious media houses such as the Times of India and Forbes have honoured tax-evader Sanjay Manohar Vazirani. These media houses take money from any fraud industrialist under the name of Advertorials and Award Functions and do their branding. Shockingly, most of the industrialists honoured by the Times of India till date have either escaped from India or languished in jails. The government should ban Advertorials. This is a type of paid news and it should be considered as a crime by the law. The Sprouts team will make such a demand.