Three firms of the top fifteen electoral bond donors, now declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court, are registered in the same address in West Bengal. The firms, Keventer Foodpark Infra Pvt Ltd, Madanlal Ltd and MKJ Enterprises Ltd, belong to the Keventer group of companies.
The three firms together donated over Rs 500 crore, with Keventer Foodpark Infra Pvt Ltd donating the highest at Rs 195 crore. Madanlal Ltd donated Rs 185.5 crores to political parties in the financial year 2019-20 when its total profit before taxes was merely Rs 1.84 crores.
Headquartered in Kolkata, the group is famous for its dairy, fresh and packaged food products. All the three firms share a common director, Radhe Shyam Khetan, who is the CEO of Keventer Realty, Keventer group’s real estate arm.
West Bengal government had divested its 47% share in a dairy firm called Metro Dairy in 2017 and sold them to Keventer Agro, a Keventer Group company, sparking controversy. The group had then sold close to 15% of its shares to a Singapore-based private equity firm for a much higher price.
Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, Congress leader, filed a PIL in the Calcutta High Court in 2018, accusing the state government of undervaluing the company. He accused the state government of losing at least Rs 500 crores and demanded a probe.
The same year, a preliminary enquiry was started by the Enforcement Directorate (ED). The Keventer group began donating to political parties via electoral bonds in April 2019. In March 2021, the ED raided premises of the Keventer group, according to media reports.
In September 2022, the Supreme Court upheld the disinvestment of shares while dismissing another appeal that Chowdhury had filed challenging the decision of the High Court.
