Low-level employee scapegoated, say pilots

Former Jet Airways employees from across the globe had written to the EPFO’s Kandivli office regarding their PFs but most received no response

The white-collar accused involved in multi-crore Provident Fund scam of Jet Airways have made a low-ranking Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) employee a scapegoat in order to cover their tracks, believe international pilots who worked for the grounded airline. According to them, it's impossible for a junior employee to have single-handedly pulled off the massive fraud.

Speaking about the FIR that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has registered against EPFO employee Machindra Bamne, his wife Rupali and 13 Jet employees on July 11, a former Jet pilot from Panama told mid-day, "Senior officials have made a junior EPFO employee a scapegoat to safeguard themselves. It's impossible to digest the claim that a junior EPFO employee can manage this unforgivable scam, which has directly affected our families. The scamsters are still trying to hide the evidence. We will fight till we get justice."

Terming mid-day's PF scam exposé wonderful and timely, he said, "It's just fantastic that the CBI has registered an FIR."

The Employees' Provident Fund Office office at Kandivli where Bamne worked. File Pic/Nimesh Dave

"A small fish can't do something like that without the knowledge of the big bosses. They tell their subordinates to do the dirty deed and maybe give them a bit of the stolen money," said another Panamanian national, crediting this newspaper for the authorities paying attention to their claims. "mid-day has supported this just cause. Personally, my family and I are very grateful for your excellent work," he added.

"Before receiving mid-day's support, our group (of expats) felt too powerless to speak our truth. Now, we are sure that justice will be served to all expat pilots who work in a great nation like India. Thank you so much," said a 55-year-old Panamanian.

A Malaysian national said, "I had been sending emails to the EPFO office from 2019, but no action had been taken. But after mid-day amplified our voices, a positive move is visible as the CBI has registered an FIR and the investigations are going on."

Machindra Bamne, the main accused

Thanking this newspaper for exposing the fraud, a 64-year-old former expat from the Czech Republic said, "The scamsters targeted foreigners, who are easy prey. It is hard to imagine that fraud of this magnitude would go unnoticed and did not involve the highest levels of the management."

A 61-year-old Mexican, who worked as a Jet Airways pilot, said, "Because mid-day exposed the scam last year, Delhi is taking action now. A junior employee could not have gone so far without senior officials' approval."

A 52-year-old Malaysian national said that a junior EPFO would not have the level of experience required to pull off such a scam without help from seniors.

A 63-year-old expat from Indonesia said, "I thank mid-day for the effort they put into our case. Frankly, I didn't have much faith in the system initially. But having seen that the CBI has finally registered an FIR, I believe we will get the compensation we deserve."

Expats from different parts of the world, including Canada, Malaysia, Panama, Central America, the Czech Republic, France, Venezuela and Portugal, had written to the EPFO's Kandivli office regarding their PFs, but most of them said officials deliberately did not respond. "Maybe they were busy siphoning off funds," said an expat sarcastically.

An EPFO Central Board of Trustees (CBT) member Prabhakar Banasure said, "The role and integrity of Regional Provident Fund Commissioner, RO, Kandivli, Sudhir Ganvir, is being looked into. He is the controlling authority where Bamne was neck-deep in corruption. I am wondering why the senior officials in Delhi are not removing Ganvir from the Kandivli office where one scam after another is surfacing."

He added, "A number of international workers were associated with Jet Airways, which was grounded in 2019. If they have not received their PF amounts, where is the money? This is a multi-crore scam which must be investigated thoroughly. A number of files need to be minutely studied."

Meanwhile, an EPFO source said, "Jet had offices across the globe and a huge number of workers were associated with it. Not only expat pilots but all these workers are entitled to their PFs. The investigators need to get the details from the Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO) to find out how many international workers were associated with Jet. Staff members who worked in foreign countries are also entitled to their PF."

When mid-day contacted Jitendra Khare, the chief vigilance officer (CVO) of the EPFO, he said, "Who said it is a multi-crore scam? Where is the scam? Has the PF amount of one beneficiary been transferred to someone else's? There is no scam at all. If you have any proof, let me know…"

"The CBI has registered an FIR involving corruption and the investigations are going on," Khare said.

The international workers, mostly pilots, of the airline said they have been denied or given limited access to their PF accounts as the website demands a one-time password (OTP), which is sent to their Indian mobile numbers that are not functional now.

Sources at EPFO Kandivli said that this had been done to freeze the accounts as mid-day had published a series of stories on the scam. "The international workers were kept in the dark about the PF scheme in India. Most of them learnt about it only when Jet Airways was about to shut down its operations," said a source.

"After mid-day exposed the scam, which was done in connivance with graft-riddled EPFO officials at Kandivli and a handful of Jet Airways staff, the access to log into PF accounts was upgraded. Now, one requires the OTP and must enter their Aadhaar card number," the source added.

"The OTP is sent to the Indian mobile numbers of the international workers, who don't have Aadhaar cards, to deny them access to their own PF accounts so that data can be manipulated," the source added.

An international worker from the USA said, "It is obviously a willful attempt to deprive us of our entitlements."

"This is a statement above my Universal Account Number (UAN) saying that ‘Aadhaar is not available against UAN, Kindly seed Aadhaar through employer'. What a joke!" said an expat pilot from the USA.

"Since the website has been upgraded, my password for the UAN is not valid and as an expat pilot, I cannot get an Aadhaar card," he added.

"Since the expats were kept in the dark about the PF scheme by their employer, chances are high that bogus claims were made to siphon off crores of rupees from international workers. So, a forensic audit into the PF accounts of expatriates and domestic workers of Jet Airways is required to expose the intensity of this scam," a senior EPFO official said.

Bamne, Rupali and the Jet employees were booked under the Criminal Conspiracy and Prevention of Corruption Act.

July 11
Day FIR was filed against 15 accused

2019
Year Jet Airways halted operations