Jet PF row: Is a cover-up underway?

Rattled by middayrsquos reports on the alleged Jet Airways PF scam the EPFOrsquos Kandivli office has written to former expat pilots of the airline asking them to confirm if their PF claims have been settled But a source alleged that this is a ploy to suppress the matterA former Jet pilot said he has received an email from Kandivli EPFO asking him to accord ldquoTop most priorityrdquo Quoting the content of the communication the 54yearold pilot said it is required for ldquointernal audit purposerdquo The mail was sent on behalf of the assistant PF commissioner compliance said the expat pilot from PanamaEarlier middayrsquos reports on the alleged scam had prompted EPFO to summon Sudhir Ganvir regional provident fund commissioner RO Kandivli to Delhi Ganvir was also accused of not sharing info about the Jet case EPFOrsquos vigilance has also launched an internal probeSudhir Ganvir regional provident fund commissioner RO Kandivli was called to Delhi following middayrsquos reports right The mail sent by EPFOrsquos Kandivli office to a former Jet pilotA highly placed source at EPFO told midday ldquoThe mails have been sent to the expat pilots of Jet Airways not to complete the internal audit but to suppress the matter Why has the assistant PF commissioner compliance suddenly started to send mails to the expat pilots now Why did they not contact them since 2019 after the airline was groundedrdquoAlso Read Doublebarrelled probe ordered in Jet airways PF scamThe source said ldquoThe PF officials at Kandivli have been trying to seek the consent mail from expat pilots so that they can show it to the vigilance team to prove that the accounts have been settled and the international workers have no objection to it The international workers should wait till the inspection is over else based on the reply to their mails they will close the enquiry and many other members will lose their PF moneyrdquo said the sourceA 54yearold Jet pilot from Central America said ldquoI am not going to reply to the mail immediately as they never entertained me properly at their office nor did they ever respond to my mailrdquoldquoItrsquos true that I received Rs 9 lakh as PF amount when our baby was born in April 2019 I was jobless and needed money to pay the hospital billhelliprdquo he said Though he joined the carrier in 2011 his PF component began reflecting in his payslip in August 2015ldquoWhy the PF officials are not taking an effort and sending us mail citing lsquoTOP PRIORITYrsquo to let us know the status of our PF money from the date of joining till August 2015rdquo Wondered the pilotlsquoHave apprised Labour minrsquoPrabhakar Banasure a member of EPFOrsquos board of trustees said ldquoI have apprised the whole episode related to the Jet Airways PF scam to Labour Minister Bhupender Yadav twicehellipand I have been demanding for Sudhir Ganvirrsquos immediate suspension as he might destroy crucial pieces of evidence to suppress the matter but he is still holding the office where alleged multicrore scam rocked the nationrdquoldquoI have also given him Yadav a photograph of Nilesh Kapadia an exemployee of EPFO who has been taking care of all the PFrelated work for Jet Airways who frequently visits the Kandivli EPFO to connive with PF officials But no action has been taken so farrdquo said BanasureldquoI have been told by a source that till date they have conducted an investigation of four Jet pilotsrsquo PF accounts and have concluded that there is embezzlement of around Rs 200 crorerdquo Banasure said An interim report on this has been shared with Chief Vigilance Officer Jeetendra Khare he saidldquoThis could not be the handiwork of one person I am sure there is a syndicate involved in the graftrdquo said Banasure adding they have demanded a CBI probe He said an internal auditor first pointed to the irregularities but the auditor was transferredBanasure said a matter related to alleged embezzlement of funds was suppressed at Thane EPFO when Ganvir was its headldquoI am collecting every piece of evidence and will meet the prime minister to raise the issue if Ganvir is not suspended with immediate effectrdquo said Banasure adding if Jet pilots write to him he would take their grievance to the Labour ministerGanvir remained unavailable for comment The Central Provident Fund Commissioner Neelam Rao said ldquoI am busy in a national conferencerdquoWherersquos our money pilotsAmid EPFOrsquos frantic efforts to reach out Jet pilots a 63yearold pilot from Trinidad and Tobago said ldquoThere was no payment into my PF from the date of Joining in January 2014 until the first deposit in September 2015 I have no idea where the money is or who is responsible for itrdquoAnother Jet pilot from Canada said they left India in a panic as they were jobless and no Jet executive was available to assist them properly ldquoAfter losing the job in March 2019 my priority was to go home and not to run to government offices for PF amount Most of us were not even aware what this PF amount was Our employer kept us in dark for many years and this helped the crooks to embezzle our money which is stuck in India and here we are suffering with no moneyrdquoSome of the Jet pilots facing acute financial crisis as they are yet to get the job to run their houses Above all aviation industry was hit hard in the pandemic and the hiring is frozen in many companies ldquoAnd the PF officials are galloping our huge huge amount I need my PF money and I am going to approach a legal firm to sue them The Government of India must step in to let us know the status of our PF moneyrdquo said the pilot from Central America