Yet another bank scam surfaced on Sunday with the Central Bureau Investigation (CBI) registering a case against the chief managing director and other top officials of Simbhaoli Sugars mill for defrauding the Oriental Bank of Commerce (OBC) of Rs 200 crore.
The scam started when the Hapur-based sugar company listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange took a loan of Rs 149.60 crore from the OBC in 2011. Of this, Rs 97.85 crore was declared non-performing asset (NPA). To pay back this amount, the company took a fresh corporate loan of Rs 110 crore in 2015, and defaulted again.
In its complaint to the CBI, OBC has said, “The dishonest and fraudulent acts of Simbhaoli Sugars ltd in respect of loan of Rs 97.85 crore (declared as fraud) and Rs 109.08 crore (fresh outstanding) may kindly be investigated and necessary action be taken in accordance with the provisions of law against all the persons named, including their accomplice and abettors.”
Following the complaint, the CBI carried out searches at multiple locations in Delhi, Hapur and Noida in UP. The CBI has named CMD Gurmit Singh Mann, Deputy MD Gurpal Singh, Chief Executive Officer GSC Rao, CFO Sanjay Tapriya and six others, including executive and non-executive directors of Simbhaoli Sugars ltd, apart from unknown bank officials, in its FIR.
The OBC was hit by the disclosure of Rs 390-crore scam on Saturday involving a Delhi-based diamond jewellery exporter in bank loan fraud. In the last one week, four new cases have been registered against people for cheating banks.
According to the OBC complaint, the company had approached the bank in 2011 seeking around Rs 149. 60 crore loan for the purpose of financing around 5,762 sugarcane farmers. The loan was sanctioned for financing individual/Joint liability Groups (JlG) /Self Help Groups (SlG) sugarcane farmers for the tie-up arrangement under RBI scheme to the Simbhaoli Sugars ltd during the period from January 25, 2012 to March 13, 2012, in December 2011.
However, when the money was transferred to sugar company’s accounts, it was diverted for other purposes, said the complainant. The account turned NPA on March 31, 2015 and was later declared as alleged fraud by the bank to RBI on May 13, 2015 for an amount of Rs 97.85 crore.
It was further alleged that in addition to the existing NPA (March 31, 2015), the bank, under multiple banking arrangements sanctioned another corporate loan of Rs 110.00 crore to the sugar company on January 28, 2015, to pay its outstanding loan of Rs 97.85 crore.
The OBC adjusted the total liability of Rs 112,94,99,471 of the company on June 30, 2016 by way of deposit of this new corporate loan. The corporate loan, too, turned NPA on November 29, .2016. This resulted in outstanding loan of Rs. 97.85 crore (as alleged fraud) and fresh corporate loan of Rs 109.08 crore.
According to the CBI, when OBC approached Debt Recovery Tribunal (DRT), Simbhaoli Sugars took another loan in 2015 of Rs 112.94 crore to pay its liability in one go.
The bank in its investigation found that the accounts of the farmers were also declared as NPA on March 31, 2015 in accordance with the prudential norms. “The company has committed breach of terms of MoU and diverted funds for purposes other than that agreed upon between the company and our bank,” the OBC said.