CBI arrests 2 for Rs 87.8 cr bank fraud

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, November 9

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Wednesday said it had arrested two former directors of a private paper manufacturing company in connection with its probe into a multi-crore bank fraud case in Kathua district.

The case against Bharat Papers Ltd and others, including its managing director and directors, was registered on February 12, 2020 on a complaint of SBI’s SAM Branch in Ludhiana, a CBI spokesperson said. The then directors, Anil Kumar and Praveen Kumar, were arrested on Tuesday evening and produced before a magistrate who remanded them to seven days in CBI custody on Wednesday.

Rs 121 cr with interest

• Anil Kumar and Praveen Kumar, the then directors of Bharat Papers Ltd, conspired with SBI officials to cheat the bank of Rs 87.88 crore (Rs 121.13 crore with interest) from 2006 to 2019, the CBI says.
• They removed machinery and other parts without informing officials of the bank.

The accused, in conspiracy with unknown SBI officials, had cheated the bank of Rs 87.88 crore (which with interest amounted to Rs 121.13 crore) from 2006 to 2019 by illegally removing machinery and other parts without getting prior permission and without informing the lender bank, the CBI official said.

The proceeds or value of such machines and motors were not deposited in the account, he said, while alleging that the accused stealthily removed the machinery of pulp section and other parts from the factory without the knowledge of the bank.

It was also alleged that the accused illegally sold machinery parts as scrap and arranged fake invoices to cover up the illegal sale, the CBI official said, adding that the accused allegedly diverted funds from the loan account.

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