MUMBAI: Reliance Industries , the Indian conglomerate owned by billionaire Mukesh Ambani paid undisclosed monthly legal consultancy retainers to Manish Tewari, a senior politician, before his being appointed broadcasting minister in Indias previous Congress-led government, the Financial Times reported on Friday.
Ravi Shankar Prasad, a senior figure in Prime Minister Narendra Modis Bharitya Janata party, also invoiced a Reliance affiliate company for monthly legal retainers before he became telecoms minister, separate documents reveal reports the Financial Times
Neither Reliance nor the two politicians publicly disclosed the monthly payments, which in most cases were worth more than $100,000 a year.
While Accepting paid retainers from companies is not forbidden by Indias parliamentary rules, and commercial arrangements do not always have to be disclosed.. Both politicians are lawyers by profession, and it is relatively common for parliamentarians with legal backgrounds to continue legal practice, including appearing in court for corporate clients.
There is no suggestion that any party broke Indian laws .Nonetheless the existence of undisclosed retainer contracts between a company run by Indias pre-eminent tycoon and senior parliamentarians raises questions about political transparency and the perception of potential conflicts of interest, analysts told Financial Times .
This is a very serious problem, says Professor Jagdeep Chhokar, former dean of the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad and co-founder of the Association for Democratic Reforms, a campaign group. If these contracts are not disclosed, how do we decide whether any person is taking decisions in the public interest, or in the interest of a particular company? reports the Financial Times.
Mr Ambani wields formidable influence in New Delhi, commanding a $75bn business empire. His business interests include a broadcasting arm and a planned $12bn investment in a new mobile telecoms business, which is due to launch next year.
Mr Ambani is also one of Indias most controversial public figures, known for his $20bn personal fortune as well as his familys luxurious Mumbai home, a 27-storey residential skyscraper often described as the worlds most expensive private dwelling reports the Financial Times.
The nature of any financial relationships between Reliance and senior Indian politicians has remained largely a matter of speculation.Documents seen by the Financial Times show that Mr Shankar Prasad, a former BJP spokesman, sent an invoice for Rs8.4m ($135,506) for legal services provided between April 2013 and March 2014 to Fine Tech Corporate Private, a Reliance affiliate claims Financial Times .
Manish Tewari, a senior figure in the Congress party, also received payments from Reliance for a number of years before becoming broadcasting minister in 2012.
In June 2010, Reliance agreed to a monthly retainer paying Mr Tewari, then a backbench MP, a total of Rs12m ($193,580) over the next two years. In June 2012, Mr Tewari wrote to Reliance asking for his contract to be renewed. Reliance agreed to pay a total of Rs14.4m ($232,295) for two further years reports Financial Times.
Both politicians say they ceased all commercial legal work upon taking ministerial office, as required by Indias ministerial code.
Mr Shankar Prasad said in a statement that any legal work undertaken as an MP has been purely in professional capacity, only like a lawyer and client and nothing else. He denied invoicing Reliance Industries but did not respond to a request for comment on whether he invoiced Fine Tech Corporate Private.
