CBI searches Simbhaoli Sugars in Delhi & UP
NEW DELHI: The CBI on Sunday registered a case against Simbhaoli Sugars Ltd in connection with an alleged loan default case to the tune of Rs 109 crore. The investigating agency booked CMD Gurmit Singh Mann, Deputy MD Gurupal Singh and others in the case while conducting a series of searches at multiple locations across Delhi and Uttar Pradesh.
According to reports, the Uttar Pradeshbased sugar distillery had reported a net loss of Rs 74.98 crore in the quarter ending 2017, preceded by a loss of Rs 19.09 crore in the quarter ending December 2016. The case of loan fraud against the Bombay Stock Exchange (Bse)-listed company comes just on the heels of major revelations of loan frauds by several major banks.
On Saturday, the CBI had registered a case against another Delhi-based diamond jewellery exporting company, Dwarka Das Seth International Pvt Ltd, and its directors after receiving a complaint from Oriental Bank of Commerce. The case was registered nearly six months after OBC filed a complaint with the central agency.
As the banking sector reels under pressure from Rs 11,400 crore fraud in Punjab National Bank (PNB), allegedly involving Mumbaibased diamond jeweller Nirav Modi and Mehul Chowksi, the new case adds to the vulnerability of the banking system. Raising concerns over the increasing number of wilful defaulters and non-performing assets in the banking system, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley termed them as ‘a scar on economy’. “Cases of wilful defaults are something which is much more than the business failure itself,” Jaitley added. The finance minister called it worrisome that loan frauds went undetected in the banking sector, adding that a single flag was not raised when the fraud was detected. Earlier in the week, the CBI arrested Rotomac Global owner Vikram Kothari and his son Rahul in connection with the company’s Rs 3,695 crore loan default. The CBI had booked Rotomac Global Pvt Ltd, Kothari, his wife Sadhana and son Rahul for allegedly defaulting on Rs 3,695 crore in loans taken from a consortium of seven banks.