3 Karnal rice exporters booked by CBI for defrauding banks of Rs 411 crore

Tribune News Service
New Delhi, May 9

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has booked three Karnal-based rice exporters for allegedly cheating a consortium of six banks to the tune of Rs 411 crore.

Acting on the complaint filed by the SBI, which has suffered a loss of more than Rs 173 crore, the CBI has registered an FIR against Ram Dev International and its directors Naresh Kumar, Suresh Kumar and Sangita, who have allegedly fled the country. Other members of the consortium are Canara Bank, Union Bank of India, IDBI, Central Bank of India and Corporation Bank.

CBI officials said the company had three rice milling plants and eight sorting and grading units in Karnal district with offices in Saudi Arabia and Dubai for trading. The company exported basmati rice to West Asian and European nations.

As per the complaint, when the company’s account was declared non-performing asset (NPA) on January 27, 2016, the banks conducted a joint inspection of properties, only to find Haryana Police personnel deployed there. The borrowers had allegedly removed the entire machinery from a plant and fudged the balance sheets.

“On inquiry, it has come to notice that borrowers are absconding and have left the country,” the complaint read.