CBI raids at 187 locations in bank fraud crackdown

Searches 187 locations in 42 cases pertaining to bank fraud worth `7,200cr

In a nationwide operation, the CBI on Tuesday searched over 187 locations in 16 states after registering 42 fresh cases on bank frauds amounting to Rs 7,200 crores.

Sources said the exercise, launched early in the morning, was held throughout the day, with CBI teams knocking at the doors of the accused to collect evidence and question them. The most searches were in Maharashtra, where CBI teams swooped in at 58 locations, followed by Punjab, where 32 places were searched. Twelve locations were searched in Delhi, 17 each in Tamil Nadu and Madhya Pradesh and 15 in Uttar Pradesh. Over 1,000 CBI officers had been involved.

In a nation-wide operation, the CBI on Tuesday conducted searches at over 187 locations in 16 states in the country after registering 42 fresh cases pertaining to bank frauds involving `7,200 crore.

According to sources the exercise, launched early in the morning, was carried out throughout the day, with CBI teams knocking the doors of the accused to collect evidence and question them. Maximum searches were reported from Maharashtra where the agency’s teams swooped down at 58 locations followed by Punjab, where 32 locations were searched, sources said. Twelve locations were searched in the national capital, 17 each in Tamil Nadu and Madhya Pradesh, 15 in Uttar Pradesh, five in Andhra Pradesh, two in Chandigarh, four each in Kerala, Telangana and Dadra and Nagar Haveli, five each in Gujarat and Haryana, six in Karnataka and two each in Uttarakhand and West Bengal, they added.

The operation was spread

across 16 states and Union Territories with as many as 1,000 officers of the agency involved in it making it one of the largest coordinated search this year. Sources in the CBI said in at least four cases, the siphoned off funds are over `1000 crore. Among major cases, the CBI has booked promoters and directors of Advantage Overseas Pvt Ltd Shrikant Bhasi, Dinesh Arkot Selvaraj, Manish Kumar Singh, Gagan Sharma and Jijo John for allegedly cheating State Bank of India, Bhopal, by falsifying records to avail credit facilities of `6000 crore. The company involved in bulk trading of agro commodities defaulted on payments causing a loss of `1266 crore to the bank, sources said.

A separate case has been registered against Energo

Engineering Projects Ltd and its directors — chairman Sujit Das, Dinesh V Singh managing director Jaya Singh — for availing credit facilities to the tune of `1290 crore on forged documents. Later payment defaults caused a loss of `1266 crore to the bank. Surana Industries in Chennai and its directors Dinesh Chand Surana, Shanti Lal Surana, Gautham Lal Surana, Vijayraj Surana, and others have been named in CBI FIR for allegedly causing a loss of `1083 crore to a consortium of 12 banks led by IDBI, sources said.