CBI books BJP Mumbai unit’s General Secretary in Rs 57 cr bank fraud case

NEW DELHI: The CBI has booked Bharatiya Janata Party Mumbai Unit's General Secretary Mohit Kamboj alias Mohit Bharatiya in connection with a bank fraud case against his company Avyaan Overseas Private Limited, which the central agency has accused of defrauding the Bank of India to the tune of Rs 57.26 crore, officials here said on Wednesday, adding that sleuths had also conducted raids in connection with the case.

The Central Bureau of Investigation said that it had conducted searches at five locations in Mumbai at the residential premises of Kamboj and other accused and the official premises of his company, from where it claimed to recover incriminating documents in the nature of property papers,

loan documents, various bank account details and locker keys. As per the complaint filed by the Bank of India on June 12, Kamboj's company had offered a One-time Settlement (OTS) offer of Rs 28 crore against a total credit of Rs 60 crore and after revisions, the OTS was increased to Rs 30 crore and settled upon. However, the bank, in its complaint, told the CBI that it had noticed certain "discrepancies in the source" of the settlement fund, thereby causing the bank a loss of more than Rs 67.22 crore.

While the federal agency is looking into the role of bank officials in the case, Kamboj is yet to respond to a detailed questionnaire sent by Millennium Post to him about his alleged involvement in the case. Significantly, this is not the first time Kamboj has been under the scanner for financial crimes. As per reports published earlier, Kamboj was declared as "wilful defaulter" by the Bank of Baroda in 2019 with respect to a loan availed from the bank by one of his companies Avyaan Ornaments. As per the Bank of India's disclosure, Avyaan Overseas, of which Kamboj was listed as Managing Director and Guarantor, is engaged in exporting jewellery and ornaments to countries such as Dubai, Singapore and Hong Kong. According to the forensic audit commissioned by the bank, the company had diverted funds to purchase properties in the name of one of the Director's family members; transacted with related parties fraudulently; misrepresented creditors; had not filed financial statements with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs since 2014; and also transacted with at least one Dubai-based company - SAFI Gold Trading LLC - which appeared to be a shell company given that the auditors could not trace the company's

listed address.

Interetsingly, part of the

loan amount that was allegedly diverted to purchase a property had ended up in the accounts of a construction company called Pooja Constructions, which is owned by a Bollywood film producer, whose son is a film actor. While the Bank of India had declared the account as a non-performing asset in March 2015, the forensic audit showed that many of the directors, including Kamboj, had started resigning soon after the NPA declaration. In fact, Kamboj is learnt to have resigned as Director within two months of the account being declared as an NPA. After Kamboj's resignation, Siddhant Rajendra Bagla took over as Director on the same day and Irtesh Jawahar Lal Mishra is also one Director in Avyaan Overseas since June 2016.

In addition to Kamboj, Bagla, Mishra and Avyaan Overseas the CBI has also booked Jitendra Gulshan Kapoor, Naresh Madanji Kapoor (now deceased), and KBJ Hotels Goa Private Limited.