Mumbai: Firm, promoters booked for ₹12.98 crore bank fraud

Mumbai: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has registered an offence against a Masjid Bunder-based company for allegedly defrauding State Bank of India (SBI) to the tune of ₹12.98 crore.

It is alleged that the accused promoters of the company submitted forged title documents of a mortgage property to avail instant credit facilities, thus causing a wrongful loss to the bank.

According to the CBI, the company was engaged in trading of various steel items like steel rounds, steel bars, angles, channels etc and has been enjoying credit facilities under a sole banking arrangement with SBI since April 2010.

Non-payment of dues and irregular service obligation

“It is alleged that due to non-payment of dues and irregular service obligation, the cash credit account of the company became an NPA in February 2011. Subsequently, on the basis of internal legal opinion and investigation, bank declared the account of the company as fraudulent in September 2014,” a CBI official said, adding that the company, its directors and others conspired to cheat SBI in 2010-11.

The accused directors / promoters of the company had submitted forged title documents of a property to the bank for the purpose of availing the instant credit facilities and deliberately suppressed the fact that the said property did not have clear, marketable and transferable title at the time of mortgage with the bank. This caused a wrongful loss of ₹12.98 crore to SBI and wrongful gains to the accused.