The Central Bureau of Investigation has filed a chargesheet against CG Power and Industrial Solutions and former promoter Gautam Thappar on charges of allegedly indulging in a bank fraud of about ₹2435 crore. The CBI move adds more trouble for Gautam Thappar who is already under the glare of multiple agencies for his alleged associations with Yes Bank Co-founder Rana Kapoor, jailed earlier on corruption charges.
The CBI filed the chargesheet before Special Judge, CBI cases, Rouse Avenue District Courts, New Delhi. The CBI has alleged that the accused had cheated the consortium of 13 banks, led by State Bank of India, to the tune of approximately ₹2,435 crore and diverted large amounts of bank loans to its related parties. To cover-up the misdeed, the accused subsequently made adjustment entries in their books of accounts, charged the agency in a statement.
“It was further alleged that the accused had availed loans against the same securities without disclosing finance taken from other banks and also borrowed funds from the bank by misrepresentation and falsifying of books of accounts, entries and vouchers,” the CBI alleged. CG Power and Industrial Solutions was into the business of manufacturing of electrical equipments and owns facilities even outside India, in Indonesia and Hungary.
Complaint from SBI
The CBI swung into action after registering an FIR on June 6, last year, to probe a complaint from the SBI, which said it had an exposure of 12.81 per cent in the siphoned off ₹2,435 crore loaned to the private firm. Yes Bank had the second highest exposure at 11.75 per cent.
In the complaint, SBI stated that on August 19, 2019, the company disclosed to the Bombay Stock Exchange and the National Stock Exchange that its liabilities, advances to related parties, and net worth had been understated. Ten days later, the company board, which also disclosed about the assets being compromised, through a majority decision removed Thapar as Chairman and Venkatesh VR as Chief Financial Officer, the FIR stated.
A forensic examination of the company that began with the banks’s decision of September 27, 2019, showed funds were moved to Thapar promoted group companies through a series of transfers to various firms. The bank loans availed by the company were declared as fraud after going through the findings of audit report, the SBI told the CBI.