Mumbai EOW Arrests Duo In ₹23.75 Crore Bank Guarantee Fraud

Mumbai: The Economic Offences Wing (EOW), Mumbai, has arrested duo in a case of cheating, forgery, and criminal conspiracy after Welspun DI Pipes Ltd alleged that it was cheated of Rs.23.75 crore through forged bank guarantees submitted by Tirth Gopicon Ltd and its directors. In connection with the case, EOW has taken custody of the prime accused, Maheshbhai Kumbhani, director of Tirth Gopicon Ltd, and his associate Gaurav Pradeep Dhakad from Indore through the CBI and formally arrested them.

FIR Filed and Transferred
Based on the complaint, an FIR was initially registered in 2025 at NM Joshi Marg Police Station under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, and later transferred to the EOW for detailed investigation.

Forged Bank Guarantees Used
According to EOW officials, the investigation has revealed that the accused, in criminal conspiracy, submitted forged bank guarantees of Rs.12.50 crore and Rs.20 crore, purportedly issued by Punjab National Bank (PNB), Jalandhar and Baguiohati (Kolkata) branches, to fraudulently obtain large consignments of ductile iron (DI) pipes on credit from Welspun DI Pipes Ltd. Despite knowing that the guarantees were fake, the accused allegedly used them to secure deliveries worth Rs.89.10 crore between March 4, 2023, and March 24, 2025. While payments of Rs.64.30 crore were made, an amount of Rs.23.75 crore remains unpaid, resulting in wrongful gain to the accused and corresponding financial loss to Welspun, police said.

Company Profiles Highlighted
Welspun DI Pipes Ltd, which is engaged in manufacturing and supplying ductile iron pipes, caters about 30 per cent of its production directly to government projects across various states, while the remaining 70 per cent is sold in the open market. As per company policy, market sales are carried out either against advance payments or secured instruments such as letters of credit or bank guarantees. Tirth Gopicon Ltd, a construction company involved in road, drainage, water supply, and infrastructure projects, with registered offices in Ahmedabad and Indore, had secured a Rs.974 crore contract from the Madhya Pradesh Jal Nigam in 2023, for which it required a large supply of DI pipes.

Purchase Orders and Guarantees
During negotiations, Tirth Gopicon placed a purchase order worth Rs.31.11 crore with Welspun on March 4, 2023, seeking 45 days’ credit and offering a Rs.12.50 crore bank guarantee. Accordingly, a bank guarantee purportedly issued by PNB, Rama Mandi branch, Jalandhar, dated June 13, 2023, along with a confirmation email from the official bank email ID, was submitted, following which Welspun began supplying materials. Subsequently, another bank guarantee worth Rs.20 crore, allegedly issued by PNB, Baguiohati branch, West Bengal, dated January 15, 2024, was also submitted, further facilitating large-scale deliveries on credit.

Fraud Detection and Exposure
The fraud came to light in May 2025 after a local newspaper in Madhya Pradesh reported cases involving fake bank guarantees linked to Tirth Gopicon Ltd. Suspecting foul play, Welspun attempted to invoke both guarantees. However, PNB’s Kolkata branch, in an email dated May 7, 2025, and the Jalandhar branch, in a mail dated May 8, 2025, categorically denied issuing any such guarantees, confirming that the documents were forged. This established that the accused had cheated Welspun by submitting fake bank guarantees to dishonestly obtain goods on credit.

Earlier Fraud History
Further investigation revealed that Maheshbhai Kumbhani had earlier submitted forged bank guarantees worth Rs.184 crore to the Madhya Pradesh Jal Nigam while securing government contracts. Following directions of the Madhya Pradesh High Court, the CBI registered a case and, after investigation, filed a chargesheet before the Special CBI Court in Indore, concluding that Kumbhani, along with agent Gaurav Pradeep Dhakad and bank official Govindchandra Hansda, had conspired to prepare and use forged bank guarantees.

Ongoing Probe Continues
EOW officials said the ongoing probe is focused on identifying the full conspiracy, including the role of bank officials from PNB’s Baguiohati and Jalandhar branches, tracing how and where the forged guarantees were created, and establishing whether more individuals were involved. Police have sought extended custodial remand of the accused to conduct a thorough interrogation, citing the serious nature of the offence, the large financial loss involved, and the need to uncover the wider network behind the sophisticated financial fraud.

Published on: Friday, January 23, 2026, 01:56 AM IST