[TusharK]

900 car engines have been stolen from Kia Motors' Andhra Pradesh plant over the last 5 years.



The crime came to light after the company conducted a year-end audit in March. A formal complaint was lodged with the local police on March 19, based on which a case has been registered.

Preliminary investigation shows the engines were stolen in a phased and planned manner. Penukonda DSP Y Venkateshwarulu suspects that some former and current employees could be involved. It is said that the engines were stolen from the plant by tampering with the records.

The investigation is ongoing, and the exact modus operandi will be clear once the suspects are in custody.

Source: ET Auto

Link to Team-BHP news

[yedukrishnan199]

So basically, there weren't proper counts being made yearly; that's why 900 engines were found missing, and they can be traced as being over a 5-year period. Considering a company like Kia, there is no chance this can happen without employee involvement.

[shady_lawyer]

The M/O for this theft seems to be similar to the GST Fraud of Rs. 10 Crore! including wherein cash is alleged to have exchanged hands.

https://www.sci.gov.in/view-pdf/?dia...dgements_order

See the above Supreme Court judgment, which makes for startling reading. Though the company is not "KIA" but it is linked to KIA, and research into MCA records shows deep links between KIA and this company.

[condor]

If this happened over five years, then why wasn't anything found in the previous years ?

These are full engines that they are talking about, not parts. One would think that number of full engines are easier to track. Cars Produced + Spare (in case of full engine replacements).

[volkman10]

Does a company as big as Kia, have no yearly inventory in place? Something strange in this reporting.

[PreludeSH]

Engines were delivered from TN. They have fudged records which is clear. Still moving them out should be a difficult task. Wonder where they were used !

Of course you can move them with garbage or something else (we have seen this in movies )

[sagarpadaki]

Why would someone steal whole engines? To dismantle and sell them for parts? I do not understand the motive behind stealing whole engines. Knowledgeable members, please share your viewpoint

[yedukrishnan199]

Originally Posted by sagarpadaki

Why would someone steal whole engines? To dismantle and sell them for parts? I do not understand the motive behind stealing whole engines. Knowledgeable members, please share your viewpoint

The only way these can be of use without avoiding detection of the theft is by dismantling them for parts and selling the individual engine components (like turbochargers, pistons, and crankshafts), which can be sold separately. Selling whole engines doesn't seem like a probability unless there exists a market for them among unauthorized garages or dealers.

[AMG Power]

Forget 900, try stealing 1 engine from any factory.

It’s either an insurance fraud or an accounts fraud or a profit makeover.

Grand Theft Auto. Redefined.

[vamsi.vadrevu]

This is definitely an accounting issue. There's no way 900 engines walk out of a factory like that without anyone noticing over a span of 5 years.

It is most probably a way for KIA to say it was theft and claim insurance, isn't it?

[autoliebe]

Looks like an accounting error for sure.

Companies like these do monthly/quarterly/annual inventory counting to ensure numbers match between system and on the ground.

900 engines mean roughly ₹30 Crores assuming average engine cost be ₹3 Lacs or so. Not possible at all.

This is for sure accounting error and will be pointed out when cost accounting engineers and chartered accountants do the investigation.

Moreover, where did these engines go?

Must be interesting to see when the investigation finishes.

[audioholic]

How can someone steal a damn engine out of a premises which would be having very high security arrangements? Let alone 900. Facilities and Corporate security of that plant must be fired immediately.

[sunikkat]

You will soon see Sonet’s with 1.5 Turbo swaps in the after market

[damanbir]

My Speculation says these Engines came from Hyundai's Chennai plant, and wrong number were reported while incoming or there was lack of inspection in the returning trucks. The doubt still is why did it take them 5 years to catch it?

Having worked with OEMs, I can assure there is no way anyone can get an engine out of the facility, except for one - Scrap Material.

Usually Manufacturing Units clear their scrap periodically to a Scrap dealer and this is a meticulously procedure in which rejections are counted and calculated by Internal Supplier Quality departments and the Vehicle Testing and Verification Departments before Finance ticks it out of their books.

[ajmat]

Each engine is numbered and allocated to a chassis. There should have been a conciliation of enginees leaving factory, reaching Kia, getting installed.