Gold seized despite having relevant documents: TTD executive officer Anil Kumar Singhal

TIRUPATI: Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams executive officer Anil Kumar Singhal explains the circumstances that led to the Election Commission of India officials seizing gold approximately worth Rs. 400 crore near Tiruvallur in Tamil Nadu on April 17 in an interview with TOI.
How much gold was deposited with Punjab National Bank under gold demonetisation scheme?
As per RBI guidelines, since 2015 TTD has deposited 8636 kgs of gold in various public sector banks under short, medium and long term deposits under gold demonetisation scheme (GMS). On April 18, 2016, TTD deposited 1311 kgs of gold in the GMS scheme with PNB for three years, ending on April 18, 2019.
When did TTD decide to withdraw the gold from PNB?
A sub-committee of TTD trust board decided to withdraw the gold deposit. On March 27, PNB was told to hand over the deposits to TTD at its headquarters in Tirupati. PNB said the deposit, including interest accrued in the form of gold, over three years would be handed over on April 18.
There is criticism that the gold was moved without proper security and documents…
This criticism is baseless. After our communique, PNB placed an order to procure 1381 kgs of gold from ANZ Bank, Zurich, and roped in the services of ‘Sequel,’ a leading service provider with global presence in the field of critical logistics, to handle customs clearance, security and transportation. The consignment from ANZ Bank Zurich went through customs clearance and was being moved from Chennai to Tirupati to be handed over to PNB by Sequel in compliance with international standards.
Because the consignment was approximately worth Rs. 400 crore, 10 armed guards were there throughout the transit from Chennai to Tirupati in a high security vehicle
that can withstand any kind of a possible attack.
It was PNB, and not TTD, which had an agreement with ANZ and Sequel. The consignment in transit was supported by all documents including invoice, customs clearances, agreement between the three parties, etc.
Why did the EC seize the gold near Tiruvallur in Tamil Nadu?
PNB had informed the Tamil Nadu State Election Commission about the transportation of gold from Chennai to Tirupati. They also provided information related to the vehicles, armed guards, etc.
However, a lower-rung official, part of EC's surveillance team who inspected the vehicle, believed it would be appropriate to hold the consignment and report the matter to the higher officials and district collector. Unfortunately, the consignment was seized despite all relevant documents related to transportation in place. And from the moment the consignment was seized, a smear campaign with baseless allegations was unleashed against TTD as everyone started calling the seized gold as ‘TTD gold.’
When did TTD receive the gold deposit from PNB?
We received the gold deposit from PNB on April 20. We would like to clarify that the gold in question became TTD gold only after the consignment was returned to us.
TTD had no role in terms of providing security or logistics. The central government pays the bank 1.5% handling charges. In this case, PNB is to receive approximately Rs. 6 crore which covers expenses incurred under different heads including logistics, insurance, security and refining etc.
Why did TTD not divulge details the moment the gold consignment was seized?
A high-value gold consignment was being moved by ANZ through Sequel Logistics as per a contract with PNB. These details were not to be shared in public domain till the consignment reached TTD administrative building in Tirupati for security reasons as per contractual terms between them.
Neither ANZ nor PNB have a vault in Tirupati. The vehicle itself was construed as a high-security vault and as per the agreement, once the vehicle reaches its final destination, ANZ had to first hand-over the gold consignment to PNB at the TTD's administrative building and then PNB would hand over it to the TTD treasury on the spot. And only a handful PNB and TTD officials were aware of the movement of gold till the consignment reached us.
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