Bribe Allegation in Chennai Metro Rail Contract
- Allegation by BJP (K. Annamalai)
- Tamil Nadu BJP president K. Annamalai alleged that M.K. Stalin (now CM) accepted a ₹200 crore bribe in connection with a Metro Rail contract.
- According to him, this bribe was routed via two shell companies (one in Singapore, one in Hong Kong) and was allegedly connected to the Chennai Metro Rail Phase I tender.
- Specifically, Annamalai claimed that the contract for Alstom Transport (rolling stock for the metro) was “unduly favoured” in return for the alleged bribe.
- CMRL’s (Chennai Metro Rail Limited) Response
- CMRL denied the allegations, calling them "factually incorrect."
- They explained that the addendum (which is central to the bribery claim) was issued before the last date of tender submission - not after, as claimed by Annamalai.
- According to CMRL, the procurement process was transparent, and the addendums were made to align with JICA / cost‑reduction norms.
- On the Alstom‑bribery angle, CMRL said the cases of Alstom being penalized for bribery under US law did not involve the Chennai Metro project.
- Context / Background
- The Chennai Metro Rail Phase I project was partially funded by JICA (Japan International Cooperation Agency).
- There was also a dispute / contract issue with Mosmetrostroy (a Russian firm) in a different contract package — but that is more about cost escalation, non-payment, alleged cheating, not directly about the bribe to Stalin
Sources
Economic Times
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