Case registered against Kangra bank officials and businessman in Rs 20 crore loan scam

The Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau has registered a case against Yudh Chand Bains, proprietor of M/s Himalaya Snow Village and M/s Hotel Lake Palace, and officials of Kangra Central Cooperative Bank Limited (KCCB) in connection with an alleged Rs 20 crore loan scam. The FIR was registered under Sections 420, 468, 471, 120-B IPC, 13 (1) and 13 (2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 2018.

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The case was registered after a complaint was received from the Secretary (Cooperation) to the Government of Himachal, alleging that Yudh Chand Bains had taken multiple loans from KCCB, and the bank’s officials had disregarded their own lending policies and guidelines of the RBI and National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD).

According to the inquiry, the bank had disbursed Rs 20 crore directly to the borrower, violating the Credit Monitoring Rules fixed by NABARD. The rules state that loans exceeding Rs 40 lakh cannot be given to individuals without permission from NABARD.

The controversy surrounding the loan was further exacerbated when it was revealed that the loan beneficiary had donated Rs 11 lakh to Vivekanand Trust of former CM Shanta Kumar. However, Shanta Kumar returned the cheque after learning about the controversy.

The case has been under investigation since the previous BJP government, and despite the ongoing inquiry, the previous management of the bank released another Rs 20 crore in the case. The Vigilance Bureau is currently investigating the matter further.

Inquiry revealed that the present case originated during the tenure of the previous Congress government, from 2012 to 2017. During this period, Kangra Cooperative Bank sanctioned a loan of Rs 65 crore to Yudh Chand Bains, a Mandi resident, for a hotel project in Manali. Notably, the bank management sanctioned the loan without obtaining the required permission from NABARD. Furthermore, although the project was slated to be built in Manali, it was the Una branch of KCCB that processed and disbursed the loan. The loan was sanctioned in June 2017, and the same month, the Una branch released the first instalment of Rs 7.87 crore to the beneficiary. This transaction occurred despite the lack of permission from NABARD and the absence of assent from the bank’s MD.