Four crores for biryani, cakes, coffee and travel; CAG seeks how crores were siphoned off at Digital University

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has started auditing the fraud worth crores of rupees in research projects using central funds at the Digital University. This is as per the instructions of Governor R.V. Arlekar.

The records of projects and startups that have received funds, including those from the centre, are being audited by the Accountant General's Unit 1 in Thiruvananthapuram with the permission of the VC. 'Kerala Kaumudi' was the first to report on the irregularities in the research fund fraud. Dr. Ciza Thomas, the then Vice Chancellor, had informed the Governor about the huge embezzlement in the Graphene Research Project worth Rs 94.85 crore of the Central Electronics and Information Technology Department. The CAG wrote to the government four times recommending an audit, but no action was taken. With this, the Governor directed the CAG. The Chief Minister is the Pro Chancellor of the university.

Most of the bills worth four crores submitted for the utilization certificate of the project fund were for buying biryani and cakes, drinking coffee in big hotels, and flying to various cities in the country, Singapore and the United States. The finance department reported that it was a fraud. The Governor directed the CAG to investigate along with the VC's report informing him of this.

The VC's investigation found that the company for research partnership was formed after the central fund was allocated in August 2023. The responsibility of implementing the research project was given to the Digital University. The amount allocated to the university was transferred to a private company afterwards. By forming their own companies, teaching staff are also getting money for projects in the name of collaborating with research.

Inspection on projects worth Rs 1000 crore

• In addition to graphene research, there is also an inspection on research projects worth Rs 1000 crore in the electronics, computer and graphene sectors. It is suspected that money was embezzled through startups and private companies.
• The VC found that the address of the private company located on Ambujavilasam Road, Thiruvananthapuram mentioned in the graphene project was fake. The address disappeared from the company's website afterwards.