CBI charge sheet against directors of Vadodara-based firm in ₹2.6k cr bank fraud

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Friday filed a charge sheet against three directors of Vadodara-based Diamond Power Infrastructure Limited (DPIL) and five others, including two bank officials, for allegedly defrauding a consortium of 11 banks to the tune of ₹2,654.40 crore.

According to the CBI statement, the company, which was into the business of manufacturing cables and other electrical equipment, had availed of Credit Facilities from a consortium of 11 banks (both public and private sectors) through falsification of accounts, creation of false documents and forgery of records from 2008. As of June 29, the total outstanding of the company stood at ₹2654.40 crore.

The company and its directors, Suresh Bhatnagar, Amit Bhatnagar and Sumit Bhatnagar, allegedly managed to get the term loans and Credit Facilities in spite of the firm already appearing in the Reserve Bank of India’s Defaulters List and the Export Credit Guarantee Corporation’s Caution List at the time when initial Credit Limits were sanctioned by the Consortium.

The CBI alleged that the company obtained fraudulent documents of sale from other private companies to avail Letter of Credits from the Bank of India.

“In this manner, turnover of the company was fraudulently inflated for getting enhancement in credit limits in the subsequent years and also fraudulently obtained CENVAT (Central Value Added Tax) credit from the government. Majority of payments so made from the credit account were routed back to said private company,” said the CBI, which has also charged a former deputy general manager and an assistant general manager of the Bank of India in the case.

All three directors of the company were arrested by the CBI during investigation and later Suresh Bhatnagar was granted bail by the court on health grounds. During court hearings, the Bhatnagars had denied all charges levelled against them