Whistle-blower complaints against GE

Compliance violations and illegalities at General Electric that I reported:

2009 securities fraud, evidence-tampering and obstruction of justice

I complained that GE employees engaged in criminal conduct amounting to obstruction of justice under US federal statute and tampered with evidence about events that occurred in February 2009. These facts and this evidence are relevant to the cases filed by GE investors before the United States District Court, Southern District of New York.

I complained that material information regarding GE’s failed bid for a multi-billion dollar tender for an Indian Railways project for manufacture and sale of diesel locomotives was not disclosed to GE investors in February 2009. This information was capable of influencing share-prices and thus relevant to the shareholder lawsuits filed in the United States District Court, Southern District of New York. I further complained that once these lawsuits were filed in 2009, GE employees tampered with the evidence establishing knowledge of this failed bid by GE officers including Mr.Jeffrey Immelt, Mr. John Rice and Mr. Lorenzo Simonelli. I pointed out to GE that evidence showed that offences amounting to obstruction of justice have been committed. Tampering of evidence, asking employees to lie, suppression/ destruction of evidence and creation of a misleading record to influence a United States Federal Court proceeding would amount to US federal offences and obstruction of justice under US federal statutes.

Among other evidence of what happened around GE’s failed bid in February 2009, I have seen an email sent by GE Transportation employee Mr. Brett Begole to Mr. John Rice and Mr. Karan Bhatia (another GE lawyer) in February 2009 suggesting that a news report from February 2009 that had hinted at GE’s difficulties with the bid be either allowed to die a natural death or that senior Government of India officials (Dr. Montek Singh Ahluwalia and Mr. Ronen Sen, the then Indian Ambassador in Washington) be spoken to. This email was shown to me by Mr. Jeffrey Eglash in New Delhi in late 2010 when he met me during a compliance investigation. This email was in a folder compiled by Mr. F Joseph Warin and Mr. John Chesley from Gibson Dunn. This email is suggestive of corruption and demonstrates why GE officers, attorneys and employees might have wanted to prevent their documentary record pertaining to the failed February 2009 bid from being scrutinized by a United States Federal Court.

For more on this complaint and supporting documents, read here.

GE tampered with Kazakhstan Railways customer certificate filed in Indian Locomotive tender

I complained that GE employees illegally and without authorisation “forward-dated” an undated customer certificate issued by Kazakhstan Railways and submitted this tampered/ forged document to the Indian Railways as part of GE’s request for prequalification for a multi-billion dollar locomotives tender. GE was subsequently prequalified for this tender on the basis of this unauthentic document.

For more on this complaint and supporting documents, read here.

Foreign Corrupt Practices Act violations by General Electric through suspicious third party contractor – Aartech Consultants

I complained that a third party contract between General Electric and an entity called Aartech Consultants India Private Limited was being used to pay bribes to Indian government officials. I pointed out several red flags that call for an investigation.

For more on this complaint and supporting documents, read here.

Prohibited engagement by GE in 2010 of Indian Railways advisor amounting to corrupt practice in Indian locomotives tender

I complained that GE in 2010 had engaged the services of Mr. Vinod Sharma, a former Indian Railways official and advisor, and this was expressly prohibited by the tender documents and amounted to a corrupt practice that would disqualify and blacklist General Electric.  

Prohibited contact between GE and an Indian Railways official, Mr. Shakeel Ahmad in 2008-2009

I complained that an Indian Railways official, Mr. Shakeel Ahmad was helping GE to prepare its bid documents for a multi-billion dollar locomotives tender in 2008-2009. This amounted to a corrupt practice as defined in the tender documents. 

For more and supporting documents read here.

Prohibited contact in 2010 between a team of McKinsey consultants engaged by GE and Indian Railways officials

I complained that towards the end of May 2010 and the first two weeks of June 2010, GE engaged a team of McKinsey consultants who were working out of GE’s office in New Delhi. These consultants and GE executives had extensive meetings with Indian Railways officials during this time. GE used these consultants to lobby for changes to the bidding documents for the diesel and electric locomotive tenders of the Indian Railways. Such contact with Indian Railways officials and lobbying was expressly prohibited under the tender documents and amounted to a corrupt practice. GE executives in Erie including Mr. Lorenzo Simonelli and Ms. Tara Plimpton as well as Mr. John Flannery were aware of these meetings between the McKinsey consultants and the Indian Railways officials. They were regularly briefed on conference calls by the Mckinsey team about this lobbying.