Fresh CBI complaint against Chirag computers maker for ₹515 cr fraud
KOLKATA: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Tuesday registered a complaint against Kolkata-based R P Info Systems Pvt. Ltd, maker of the Chirag brand of computers, for defrauding a group of lenders of at least ₹515 crore.
This isn’t the first complaint filed against R P Info Systems. In December 2013, IDBI Bank had filed a complaint with CBI, seeking a probe into fraudulent diversion of funds using fake documents, but the central agency restricted its probe to the extent of IDBI Bank’s exposure to the company, Canara Bank said in its complaint filed on Monday.
A separate statement issued by Canara Bank late on Wednesday said the original complaint on the ₹515 crore fraud was filed in December 2015 by the lead lender of R P Info Systems (Canara Bank did not name the lender). It said after the lead lender withdrew as the consortium leader, it was authorised by the remaining banks, on the direction of CBI, to file a revised complaint, which it filed on Wednesday.
Canara Bank said it had financed a ₹40 crore working capital limit to the company, and had reported it as a fraud to the Reserve Bank of India in 2015 itself.
The petition alleged that R P Info Systems obtained credit facilities from at least 10 staterun banks—including State Bank of India and two of its erstwhile associate banks — by submitting “fabricated” documents.
The company had overstated its inventory and submitted falsified invoices to obtain credit facilities, the bank said. In fiscal year 2013-14, the company wrote off inventory worth ₹397.62 crore and receivables worth ₹499.30 crore, Canara Bank has said in its complaint.
R P Info Systems had claimed companies such as GAIL (India) Ltd and tyre maker Ceat Ltd owed it money, but the two companies had later informed State Bank of India that they had nothing to do with the computer maker, CBI has noted in its first information report (FIR).