FIR against Richa Industries in Rs 237 crore bank fraud case

On the basis of a complaint by the Indian Overseas Bank, the Central Bureau of Investigation has booked Faridabad-based textile firm Richa Industries Limited, its 11 directors and promoters and also unknown individuals and bank officials for allegedly causing a loss of over Rs 236 crore, reports ETV Bharat's Deputy Editor Krishnanand Tripathi.

New Delhi:The Central Bureau of Investigation has booked Faridabad-based textile firm Richa Industries Limited, its 11 directors and promoters and also unknown individuals and bank officials for allegedly causing a loss of over Rs 236 crore to the Indian Overseas Bank (IOB).

On the basis of a complaint by the bank, the CBI booked the case against the Faridabad based company for cheating, forgery, a criminal conspiracy which also includes criminal misconduct by public servants under section 120B, 409, 420, 467, 467 and 471 of the Indian Penal Code and section 13(2) and 13(1) (d) of the Prevention of Corruption Act.

In the FIR, the apex anti-corruption agency named Richa Industries Limited, its managing director Subhash Gupta, six directors Manish Gupta, Sushil Gupta, Lavesh Kansal, Soniya Tahiliani, Jai Prakash Malhotra and Neeraj Bajaj, two additional directors Prabhakar V. Kotakote, Abhay Bansal, and two non-executive directors Nitin Agarwal, and Bhawana Singhal and unknown private persons and bank officials.

The CBI booked the case after a senior employee of the bank complained to the agency that the company and some government officials used forged documents to obtain the loan and siphoned off the borrowed money and cheated the bank to the tune of Rs 236.74 crores.

Richa Industries obtained loans from the Indian Overseas Bank and erstwhile Canara Bank in 2015 and its two loan accounts turned non-performing assets (NPA) in July and December 2017.

The company, which was active in the textile sector later diversified into pre-engineering building (PEB) works, has been accused of siphoning off the fund from textile division to the PEB division and vice-versa in violation of the rules.

Citing a report by the statutory auditors, the Bank also blamed the company for indulging in the selling of solar items whereas the bank loan was only for manufacturing purpose, indicating the use of loan money for non-sanctioned purposes.

The bank also accused Richa Industries of fabricating and submitting wrong documents to avail more drawing power and later using the money for non-sanctioned purposes.