CBI books Mumbai firm for cheating SBI of Rs 70 crore

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, October 9

The CMD and the CEO of a Mumbai-based ground handling company, Livewel Air Team Pvt Ltd, have come under the CBI net with the agency filing a case against them for allegedly cheating State Bank of India to the tune of Rs70 crore by submitting forged documents for availing loans, which remained unpaid.

The officials in the agency said, the CBI in its FIR had named Chairman and Managing Director Manek Daver and Chief Executive Officer Burzin Daver besides the company. It had alleged that between 2015 and 2017, the company and its directors “hatched a criminal conspiracy” to commit forgery and cheat the State Bank of India (SBI).

The CBI website claims that it has footprints in five countries — the UK, the UAE, Malaysia and Singapore besides India. It also claimed to be the first company for ground handling of biggest Airbus aircraft A380 at Terminal 3 of the Delhi Airport in 2010.

The CBI has alleged that they created forged documents and signatures of an auditor on financial statements submitted to the bank for availing credit facilities, the FIR said.

Based on these forged documents, the company “induced the bank” to avail credit facilities to the tune of Rs61 crore during the period.

The bank had sanctioned the credit limit to meet the fund requirement for business activities, which included providing engineering and infrastructure facilities for narrow-bodied aircraft, cabin interior refurbishment services for commercial airlines among others, the FIR said.

The SBI appointed an auditor to carry out a stock audit of the company who found “glaring irregularities and instances of fraud”.