It was the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) which would have informed the authorities of the actions taken by three of its former executives recently accused of their alleged participation in a corruption scheme in India, insinuates the Legault government.
Posted at 2:25 p.m.
At the National Assembly on Wednesday, the Minister of Finance, Eric Girard, estimated that the Quebec institution had been “proactive” in the matter of the solar energy producer Azure Power Global, controlled by the nest egg of Quebecers.
“It’s the Fund […] who had been proactive in requesting a review, i.e. instructing the Azure board to carry out an audit, using external advisors and who informed the authorities,” explained the responsible minister of the CDPQ, in the press scrum.
At the time of writing, the CDPQ had not commented on Mr. Girard’s statement.
The three former Caisse executives, Cyril Cabanes, Saurabh Agarwal and Deepak Malhotra, were charged on October 24 in New York.
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PHOTO PROVIDED BY THE CAISSE DE DÉPÔT ET PLACEMENT DU QUÉBEC
Cyril Cabanes, former vice-president, infrastructure, of the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec for Asia-Pacific
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PHOTO PROVIDED BY THE CAISSE DE DÉPÔT ET PLACEMENT DU QUÉBEC
Deepak Malhotra, former director, infrastructure, of the Caisse for South Asia, in the New Delhi office, and administrator of Azure
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PHOTO PROVIDED BY THE CAISSE DE DÉPÔT ET PLACEMENT DU QUÉBEC
Saurabh Agarwal, former director of the Caisse de dépôt et placement in India
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Along with five Indian businessmen, they allegedly participated from 2020 in a bribery scheme totaling US$250 million to fraudulently obtain electricity contracts in favor of Azure. It was in the United States that the charges were filed given that the Indian solar energy producer was listed on the New York Stock Exchange, therefore subject to the country’s laws.
Read Three former Caisse executives accused of corruption
The Caisse invested in Azure for the first time in 2016 and gradually established itself, to the point of becoming the majority shareholder in 2020. It invested more than 600 million Canadian dollars, which gives it a stake of 53.4%.
This investment is now worth around 35 million due to the numerous irregularities that have rocked Azure since August 2022.
From a financial point of view, it was an investment that turned out to be suboptimal. That’s the least I can say. Now, we must judge the Caisse in its entire portfolio.
Eric Girard, Quebec Minister of Finance
Mardi, The Press revealed that MM. Cabanes, Agarwal and Malhotra also played key roles in a Caisse subsidiary that paid $1 billion for a toll highway in India – almost twice as much as its rivals offered.
Consult Key roles for ex-executives accused of corruption
Questioned about this file, Mr. Girard stressed that there was no “legal aspect”. The Minister of Finance also tried to justify the price paid by the Quebec investor.
“We are talking about a competitive process and the Caisse has tried several times to acquire highways [en Inde] and did not win these competitive processes, said Mr. Girard. This time, they acquired the asset and from what I understand, the asset is performing according to investors’ expectations. »
The Quebec pension plan manager has started investing in the highways of the world’s most populous country through the Indian Highway Concessions Trust (IHCT). This trust is 75% controlled by a subsidiary of the Caisse, Maple Highways. It is she who has controlled the EPE since its acquisition in 2022.
According to IHCT financial statements consulted by The Pressthe trust accumulates losses. They amounted to CAN 25 million in 2023 before reaching 35 million for the financial year ended March 31.
With Hugo Joncas, The Press
