Firm that met CM Revanth Reddy involved in scam in Jharkhand; facing probe in Pakistan

The Meinhardt Group which called on the Chief Minister Revanth Reddy, is involved in a scam in Jharkhand and also accused of embezzling funds in Pakistan

Hyderabad: A firm that reportedly came forward and “expressed interest” to execute the Musi Riverfront Development Project, the Meinhardt Group, is involved in a scam, known as the Meinhardt scam, in Jharkhand apart from facing a probe in Pakistan for embezzling billions of rupees and cheating investors for nearly 20 years.

A delegation of the Meinhardt Group from Singapore led by CEO Omar Shahzad had met Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy at the Secretariat on Tuesday and expressed interest in executing the Musi Riverfront Development Project, with Revanth Reddy, according to an official statement, asking them to design models of the projects to be adopted for the Musi project.

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However, it has now come to light that the Meinhardt Group is involved in a scam, known as the Meinhardt scam, in Jharkhand, where the Anti-Corruption Bureau is launching a probe into alleged irregularities by former Jharkhand Chief Minister and BJP national vice-president Raghubar Das and others in the appointment of Meinhardt Singapore Private Limited as a consultant for the Ranchi sewerage-drainage project in 2005. Even the CAG had pointed out anomalies in the functioning of Meinhardt with regard to surveys it conducted, while courts had questioned the eligibility of the firm.

That is not all. The Singapore-based firm is facing a major probe in Pakistan, in what is being labelled by the media as the Creek Marina scam. In September 2023, Pakistan’s Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) registered a case against the owners of Creek Marina — a multi-billion rupee residential project launched by Meinhardt more than 18 years ago in partnership with the Defence Housing Authority — and senior officials of local private banks for their alleged involvement in embezzling billions of rupees of local buyers and investors.

According to media reports, Meinhardt Singapore PTE Ltd (MSPL), failed to complete the project and hand over the flats to buyers and investors despite the passage of almost 19 years.

The reports say that the FIR lodged by the FIA corporate crime circle shows the details of the ‘fraud’ which was going on unchecked under the nose of the authorities and in partnership with some reputed local organisations and embezzled more than Rs 30 billion over the years.

The FIA has arraigned owners of Meinhardt and its senior management namely Nasim Shahzad Mohammad, Omar Shahzad, Nudrat Mand Khan and Muhammad Abdur Raheem among the accused.

Omar Shahzad led the delegation that met Revanth Reddy on Tuesday.

Reports say that the whole project “emerges as dubious and an organised scam for many as found by the FIA in its initial probe which shows how local banks, regulatory bodies, real estate watchdogs and financial institutions either ‘ignored’ the formalities or ‘connived’ with the foreign company in taking away some Rs.33 billion from the country.”