Ram Venuprasad, the diplomat whistleblower who leaked allegations of extravagant spending at the Commonwealth secretariat, was suspected by India’s top investigating agency (Central Bureau of Investigation) of involvement in a fraud that cost Canara Bank 11 million pounds.
He had faced a 13-year probe over his alleged role in the fraud case.
Documents obtained by The Times show that 43-year-old Venuprasad was required to obtain the permission of the Indian courts to retain his passport so that he could leave the country to work in Britain.
Venuprasad, who is suspended from his post as deputy head of office to the Commonwealth secretary-general, had claimed that secretary-general Baroness Scotland of Asthal, QC, had called for the spending of 33,000 pounds on Farrow & Ball paint and ordered the 24,000 pounds renovation of a bathroom.
Venuprasad and his company Exim Sales Corporation were named in documents submitted to a special court in Delhi in 2005 that alleged they were involved in diverting funds from an export shipment which should have ended up in Canara Bank.
Venuprasad’s lawyer, Pramod Dubey, said: “There is no charge against my client by the CBI. Neither is he no bail.” The CBI had concluded the case after a 13-year investigation, he added.
