In the last five years, he has been accused of defrauding banks of loans worth thousands of crores.
In the last five years, he has been accused of defrauding banks of loans worth thousands of crores.
Nearly 100 companies dealing in agricultural products have come under the scanner of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in the last five years on charges of defrauding banks of loans worth thousands of crores. So far this year, more than two dozen firms trading in commodities ranging from rice and spices to oil have been accused of bank fraud of over ₹1,400 crore.
One of the major cases registered earlier this year pertains to SA Rother Spice Pvt Ltd, which exports and imports spices and coffee. The company took credit facilities from J&K Bank. As alleged, the company and its office bearers caused a loss of ₹ 352.72 crore to the bank. It failed to repay the loan regularly and the account was declared a non-performing asset in September 2017.
Among others, Shree Basant Oils Ltd has been accused of bank fraud of ₹124 crore, and Sourav (India) Pvt Ltd has allegedly caused wrongful loss of around ₹126 crore to its lenders.
Last year also, several cases were registered against business groups doing business in agricultural products. One such case pertains to an alleged ₹114 crore bank fraud case related to Shree Jalaram Rice Industries.
On December 31, 2021, the CBI had booked Shakti Bhog Foods Limited and others for allegedly cheating a consortium of 10 banks to the tune of ₹3,269.42 crore. Those named in the FIR include the company’s managing director Kewal Krishna Kumar and directors Siddharth Kumar and Sunanda Kumar. The company is into manufacturing and selling items like wheat flour (under the well-known brand name Shakti Bhog), rice, biscuits and cookies in the northern states. In other states, it has third party relationships with various entities.
“In all these cases, the lending banks have alleged diversion of funds through various methods. Shell companies are used to wrongly route funds, which are many times round-tripped. and investments are made in related entities. Besides, assets are acquired by the accused persons using the money. In order to get more credit facilities, companies often increase their net worth,” an agency official said. Told.