Written by Aditya Kalra
NEW DELHI (Reuters) – Spirits Group Diego The Indian unit of telecom company LON has provided financial documents sought by New Delhi’s anti-corruption police in a probe into billing and discounting practices involving city agencies, a person familiar with the matter said.
Heena Nagarajan, CEO of United Spirits, the Indian unit of Digio, has been summoned to appear before the New Delhi police on July 26 in the case related to the company’s supply of liquor to government agencies running liquor stores and payments it received from the city between 2017 and 2020.
Nagarajan, who is also a member of Digio’s global executive committee, was asked to appear in person or through company representatives and submit several documents related to the company’s sales.
Nagarajan did not appear before police, but after the notice in July, Digio, through company representatives, provided several documents sought over the three-year period, said the source, who declined to be named because he was not authorized to speak to the media.
The source added that the documents submitted included some bank statements and records of financial transactions with the Delhi agencies to which the liquor was supplied and some agreements signed with them.
Digio India and Delhi’s anti-corruption police did not respond to repeated requests from Reuters for comment.
The company had previously described the Delhi case as a “routine information gathering and fact-finding exercise” and said it was cooperating with authorities. The company added that it believed police notices may have been sent to other manufacturers.
The investigations in Delhi relate to how companies such as Digio India supplied liquor to government-run stores, and how these agencies sometimes offered early payments to suppliers who offered discounts, Reuters reported last month.
The police are investigating whether there were any irregularities in the process and whether the discounts offered by the companies are in compliance with liquor laws. The police have summoned the CEO of Digio India as a witness in the case.
New Delhi city rules mandate that all retail liquor stores be managed by government agencies only.
The Indian capital is a key market for premium liquor brands, especially for Diageo as its main competitor is the French company Diageo. Pernod Ricard The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has been unable to sell its products at retail since late 2022 due to allegations of wrongdoing it faces in another investigation.
Euromonitor estimates that Diageo, the world’s largest spirits maker which sells Johnnie Walker Scotch whisky and Smirnoff vodka, is also the largest in India with a 19% market share by volume in a market worth $35 billion.
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