10th FIR registered against Cox & Kings

MUMBAI: The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of Mumbai police has registered the 10th First Information Report (FIR) in connection with the bank loan frauds linked to global tour and travels company Cox and Kings.

Unlike the previous nine FIRS, the latest offence is registered against Cox & Kings Financial Services Ltd (CKFSL), a sister concern of Cox & Kings, for defrauding Yes Bank of nearly ₹ 400 crore.

The FIR names Cox & Kings Financial Services Ltd’s promoter and director Ajay Ajit Peter Kerkar, his wife Urshila Kerkar and two others as accused in the case. They were booked by the Banking (cheating) unit-2 of EOW recently on the complaint of Ashish Vinod Joshi, chief vigilance officer, Yes Bank.

According to the FIR, by making false and bogus purchases and selling transactions records in the company’s account books during years 2018 to 2019, the accused persons showed the financial condition of the company is in good shape.

“The company presented its incorrect/falsified financial statements to justify high creditworthiness. The company did not use the loan money for the purpose they have availed it. The company also violated various terms and conditions imposed by Yes Bank and breached the bank’s trust with the help of fudged balance sheets and caused wrongful loss to the bank to the tune of Rs 398.38 crore,” the complainant added.

EOW sources said that various financial irregularities surfaced during the forensic audit of accounts of Cox & Kings groups, following which details of loan defaults have also emerged.