Firms linked to Keventer group bought electoral bonds worth Rs 600 crore while it faced ED probe 

Between April 2019 and January 2024, four firms linked to the Kolkata-based Keventer group of companies donated over Rs 600 crore to political parties through electoral bonds. This means that the group bought the most bonds after the lottery giant Future Gaming and Hotel Services and the Hyderabad-headquartered Megha group of companies.

The Keventer group, which is led by the industrialist Mahendra Kumar Jalan, has a range of interests, including food processing and real estate.

Firms linked to the group began purchasing the anonymous bonds a year after the Enforcement Directorate reportedly launched a preliminary inquiry against one of its companies, Keventer Agro Limited. The case, an alleged disinvestment scam involving hundreds of crores of rupees, picked up steam and the Enforcement Directorate began an official investigation by October 2019.

Even as the four firms were buying up bonds, the Enforcement Directorate raided the group’s office in Kolkata in February 2021. A year-and-a-half later, in September 2022, the Supreme Court delivered a verdict in its favour, dismissing an appeal that sought an independent investigation into the matter.

An initial analysis of the data released by the Election Commission of India shows that three of the four firms linked to the Keventer group are among the top 11 donors on the list.

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