Business deal gone sour: Minister Imna Along faces preliminary enquiry over Rs 125 Cr business dispute

In a case that has drawn attention to an ongoing business dispute, Hazel Mercantile Limited, a Mumbai-based company, has filed a complaint against Temjen Imna Along, Nagaland’s Cabinet Minister and former  BJP state president, citing a breach of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed in 2015. This was reported by India Today.

According to the report, the dispute centers around an agreement in which Hazel Mercantile Limited invested approximately Rs 125 crore in projects and supply contracts in Nagaland. According to Hazel Mercantile Limited (HML), between 2015 and 2018 when Along did not hold a public office he approached the company to invest in Nagaland. Subsequently, on April 21, 2015, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed, under which the company invested approximately Rs 125 crore. The MoU also included construction contracts and agreements for the supply of rice and sugar.

However, the company alleged that after fulfilling all supply commitments and raising invoices, Along began avoiding contact with their representatives.

The case escalated when Hazel Mercantile Limited lodged a formal complaint with Mumbai Police’s Economic Offences Wing (EOW) on February 9, 2024, after receiving no response from Along. The Special Task Force (STF) of the EOW, upon review of the complaint, referred it to the Nagaland Lokayukt due to Along’s position as a Cabinet Minister. However, the Lokayukt stated that the alleged transactions occurred before Along held any public office, thereby placing the case outside its jurisdiction.

Hazel Mercantile Limited sought a court stay on the referral, arguing that the matter should remain under the STF’s purview. In response, the Bombay High Court allowed the STF to proceed with a Preliminary Enquiry (PE) into the case.

Minister Imna Along today in a press briefing responded to the issue stating, “The case against me is pertaining to an old issue” and not the time of him being involved in the government. He said he was in Mumbai those days and it was a business he had done with HML in Mumbai back in 2014-15.

According to him, a dispute broke out between him and the HML which he deemed normal in business and therefore, the HML went to the court to mitigate the dispute.

“It is a matter of the court. Kindly do not take it into conclusion,” he appealed.

MTNews Desk