Kathmandu. New Delhi: More than 1,000 engines were sold by Indian workers at kavadis from the warehouse of South Korean motor manufacturer Kia in India.
Based on information provided by Kia Motors, police investigation revealed that 1,008 engines were stolen from the factory in a span of three years in connivance with kavadi traders. The incident came to light after two former Kia India workers were arrested and arrested by the police for their alleged involvement in the theft.
The cost of the stolen engine alone is $230 million. The police investigation noted that the case “has had a cascading effect on industrial operations, stakeholder trust and job security”, and expressed concern about inter-state crime networks.
According to the Asian Insurance Post, Kia had lodged a complaint with the police in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh in March regarding the theft. In fact, Kia Motors, while checking the data in the software about the quantity of engines received from the Mau company Hyundai, found that the engines were missing after finding that they were not in the warehouse, not even used for the installation of the vehicle and suspected that the theft was done in collusion with the current working and former employees.
According to police documents dated April 16, a preliminary police investigation has revealed that two former Kia India workers — one team leader and the other branch head of the engine dispatch section — were involved in illegally transporting engines from the factory using fake invoices and fake gatepasses.
With this theft, multinational companies have been sent a message that high levels of caution should be taken in internal operations and control while doing business in India. Apart from this, the stakeholders have expressed concern that India’s image among foreign investors has also been tarnished.
