Another scam added in the list, CBI books Kolkata firm for defrauding around 500 Cr

NewsBharati    01-Mar-2018
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Kolkata, March 1: Soon after the Nirav Modi fraud scam came under surveillance, many other such scams came under limelight. Adding up to the ever increasing scam list, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has now booked Kolkata-based computer company RP Infosystem Ltd and its directors for cheating a conglomerate of Canara Bank and 16 other lender of more than Rs 500 crore. 

In a statement, an officer of Canara Bank said, "The leader of the group had filed a case with CBI in May 2015. The account had been treated as fraud by our bank during October 2015 and reported to RBI. Resulting on the leader bank resigning its role as the leader of the group and as directed by CBI (BS&FC), Kolkata, we were authorised by the remaining member banks to file revised complaint with CBI.

Under the association of 17 banks, Canara Bank financed a working capital limit of Rs 40 crores (4.69 per cent), the private sector lender mentioned in the statement, adding that that it was not the leader of the consortium.

Based on the complaint received from Canara Bank Deputy Manager DV Prasad Rao, the central investigative agency filed an FIR against company's directors Shivaji Panja, Kaustuv Ray, Vinay Bafna, vice-president (Finance) Debnath Paul along with unidentified bank officials. They have been accused of defrauding the 17-bank consortium of Rs 515 crore. The directors named in the case had allegedly acquired the loan on the basis of forged shares and debtors' statements, and then deliberately dodged on it.

The other banks in the grouping included State Bank of India, State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur, Union Bank of India, Allahabad Bank, Oriental Bank of Commerce, Central Bank of India, State Bank of Patiala, Federal Bank, and Punjab National Bank, among others.

The case has been registered under sections 120B (criminal conspiracy) read with 420 (cheating), 468 and 471 (both related to forgery) of the IPC and the criminal misconduct by a public servant.

Canara bank mentioned in the FIR that RP Infosystem had also overstated its receivables, as supposed debtors like Gail India, Vincent Electronics and CEAT had informed that they had no dealings with the company. Following this, Canara Bank filed the FIR with CBI with consent from other member banks of the consortium.

Panja, one of the directors of RP Infosystem has been involved in financial offences since long. In 2015, he was arresed dramatically while returning from Dhaka with West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. He was detained by the state police on the basis of a lookout notice by economic offences wing of Delhi police.