NEW DELHI: The CBI on Thursday conducted searches at the facilities of former financing secretary Arvind Mayaram after filing an FIR against him and a UK-based company for alleged corruption in the supply of special colour shift security thread for Indian bank notes, officials said.The CBI, in its FIR, alleged that Mayaram, the UK-based business De La Rue International Ltd and unknown officials of the finance ministry and RBI hatched a criminal conspiracy to extend excessive favour to the firm.The firm alleged that Mayaram as financing secretary approved an prohibited three years extension to an ended contract with the company for providing unique colour shift security thread without taking any necessary security clearance from house ministry or notifying the then finance minister, they said.The extension granted by Mayaram was presumably the 4th, the FIR said.The CBI signed up the FIR under IPC sections associated to criminal conspiracy and cheating and provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act.

It was followed by searches at Jaipur and Delhi home of the 1978-batch retired IAS officer, days after he had signed up with the Bharat Jodo Yatra of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.The agency had signed up a preliminary enquiry in 2018 on a complaint from the Chief Vigilance Officer of the Department of Economic Affairs in the Ministry of Finance.Based on its findings, the CBI has actually converted it into a routine case against Mayaram, now economic advisor to Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot.The agency, in its FIR, stated that the Centre had actually participated in a five-year arrangement with De La Rue International Ltd for the supply of exclusive colour shift security thread for Indian bank notes in 2004.

The agreement was extended four times till December 31, 2015.

The firm has alleged that the then financing minister had authorised the Reserve Bank of India to go into exclusivity arrangement with the suppliers of unique security features on behalf of the federal government of India, which was signed with De La Rue on September 4, 2004.

The arrangement with the company particularly pointed out that the business had actually established an unique India specific green to blue colour shift clear text MRT device readable security thread for usage in Indian banknote paper as a security function and for which the business holds exclusive production rights.The CBI discovered that the business had actually declared the patent in India on June 28, 2004, which was published on March 13, 2009, and was granted on June 17, 2011, which reveals at the time of the arrangement, it did not have a legitimate patent.

Enquiry has further revealed that De La Rue made false claims of holding patent and they did not have any patent for their colour shift thread at the time of presentation in 2002 and their selection in 2004, the CBI has alleged.The company has declared that the exclusivity contract was signed by PK Biswas, executive director, RBI, without validating the patent claim of De La Rue.

Enquiry has actually likewise exposed that the contract agreement did not have any termination clause, it said.Both RBI and the Security Printing and Minting Corporation of India Ltd (SPMCIL) sent their reports about the non-possession of the patent by the business on April 17, 2006, and September 20, 2007, respectively.Mayaram never apprised the same to the then financing minister, the CBI has alleged.Despite non-possession of the patent, the company kept getting duplicated extensions till December 31, 2012, it stated.

Enquiry even more revealed that on May 10, 2013, the matter was brought to the notice of Arvind Mayaram, as Secretary, Economic Affairs, that the contract arrangement with De La Rue had actually ended on December 31, 2012; for that reason, extension can not be approved legally, the FIR alleged.It stated Mayaram approved another three-year extension of an expired contract on June 23, 2013, overruling the truth that an extension can not be approved without getting compulsory security clearance from the Ministry of Home Affairs, the FIR alleged.No approval was drawn from the then finance minister on the issue while all previous 3 extensions-- from September 4, 2009, to June 30, 2011, from July 1, 2011, to December 31, 2011, and from January 1, 2012, to December 31, 2012, were authorized by the financing minister, it alleged.

Enquiry has likewise revealed that Anil Raghbeer, signatory of Contract Agreement from De La Rue, has actually received Rs.

8.2 crore from overseas entities apart from the remuneration paid by De La Rue in 2011, the FIR even more declared.