The Serious Fraud inquiry Office (SFIO) of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs has conducted a search of the electric vehicle makers Hero Electric, Benling India, and Okinawa Autotech as part of the ongoing inquiry into a suspected misappropriation case involving funds from the FAME II initiative.
The cases are related to the three companies’ alleged fraudulent usage of Rs 297 crores in subsidies under the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles, FAME II plan of the Ministry of Heavy Industries.
The government launched the FAME II program in 2019 with an investment of Rs 10,000 crore. The initiative provided subsidies to two-wheeler manufacturers to develop electric vehicles in India in an attempt to promote the use of electric vehicles and domestic production.
Incentives for the use of Indian-made parts in the manufacture of electric cars were permitted by the rules. The subsidy was awarded based on the Phased Manufacturing Program (also known as criteria, which were intended to ensure a certain amount of localization.
“The three companies, for claiming subsidies, had deceptively shown compliance with the applicable guidelines to the Ministry of Heavy Industries, which was later found to be incorrect and false,” the Ministry of Corporate Affairs said in a statement.
The ministry claims that the SFIO investigation showed that the three companies imported several PMP-restricted goods from China, either directly or indirectly. During the search activities, relevant pieces of evidence were recovered from the companies, including digital data, books, and other objects.
