Mumbai: Special CBI Court Refuses To Discharge CA In Yes Bank-Cox & Kings Loan Default Case

Mumbai, November 4, 2026: The special CBI court on Wednesday refused to discharge CA Subramanyam Ganesh, who was booked in connection with the Yes Bank-Cox & Kings loan default case. It is alleged that Ganesh issued two End-Use Certificates in respect of loans disbursed by Yes Bank Limited to Ezeego One Tours and Travels Ltd (EOTTL), a Cox & Kings group firm.

While refusing to discharge Ganesh, the special CBI court observed that “he blindly issued certificate without requesting for invoices, bank statements or payment trails, which said conduct of accused indicates mens rea on his part.”

“Prima facie accused failed to exercise due diligence and acted with gross negligence in issuing end to end certificate only on the request of accused company. The certificate also does not bear mandatory unique document identification number which is mandatory for every C.A. to have it on their letter head while issuing certificate,” the court further said.

Defence Argues Ganesh Had No Control Over Loan Funds

Ganesh's lawyer contended that he derived no pecuniary benefit and had no control over the utilisation of loan funds by EOTTL. It was claimed that he had been made an accused as a mere mechanical formality based on the forensic auditor's reference, without any substantive evidence linking him to the alleged transactions.

It was contended that he acted solely in his professional capacity as a Chartered Accountant, issuing end-use certificates based on documents and data provided and shown to him by the authorised representative of the borrower, which he verified in good faith and in accordance with professional standards prescribed by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI).

He neither had custody of the original records nor any authority to control or monitor the actual utilisation of funds post-disbursement, the defence contended.

CBI Alleges Lack Of Due Diligence

The plea was opposed by CBI prosecutor Sandeep Singh, who submitted that the End-Use Certificate dated July 31, 2017, was issued by the applicant/accused with regard to the utilisation of a sanctioned term loan of Rs 500 crore (disbursed amount of Rs 450 crore), without any due diligence.

The applicant did not verify the capital expenditure for the development of ERP travel software through M/s Verchaska, the prosecution submitted.

The prosecution further claimed that Ganesh did not retain copies of the records reviewed by him and omitted the Firm Registration Number (FRN) from the End-Use Certificates issued by him, thereby demonstrating a blatant disregard for ICAI guidelines.

Court Says CA Must Perform Fundamental Checks

The court, however, noted that “It is for the applicant to establish that the certificate was issued by him in good faith.. It is the responsibility of Chartered Accountant to perform fundamental checks.”

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“On perusal of certificate it appears that it has been issued without verifying books of accounts and account statement of the accused company. He did not verify whether the loan advanced to the company was utilized for the purpose for which it has been issued or advanced. He merely stated in the certificate that it is issued on the request of the company which indicates that he has deliberately issued the said certificate to assist accused borrower company who had diverted the funds advanced by the bank to personal account of its Director which were withdrawn by them for their own use and benefit,” the court observed in the order.

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