CBI books 3 Mumbai firms for cheating SBI using letters of credit

The CBI on Tuesday said it had registered cases against three Mumbai companies, SBI officials and unidentified persons on the charge of defrauding the bank to the extent of Rs 136.93 crore.

A Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) official said in Delhi that the agency registered one of the cases of criminal conspiracy and cheating against Top Worth Pipes and Tubes Pvt Ltd, its Directors Abhay Narendra Lodha, Shishir Shivaji Hiray, Harshraj Shantilal Bagmar, SBI’s then AGM Thyagaraju Inamanamelluri, Deputy Manager Vilas Narhar Ahirrao, Deputy Manager (Bills) Madhura Mangesh Sawant and unidentified public servants and private persons.

The second case was registered against Maheep Marketing Pvt Ltd, its Directors Gajendra Sandim, Hemant Sanghvi, Inamanamelluri, Ahirrao, Sawant and unidentified public servants and private persons.

The third case was against Harsh Steel Trade Pvt Ltd, its Directors Chetan Jitendra Mehta, Mahadev Ramchandra Shringare, then SBI AGM Jagdish Kulkarni, then Deputy Manager Sadanand Girkar, and unidentified public servants and private persons.

The SBI lost Rs 56.81 crore, Rs 49.99 crore and Rs 30.13 crore in these dealings.

The CBI official said these private companies enjoyed bill discounting facilities against the Letters of Credit (LoC) issued by SBI’s D.N. Road branch and PM Road Branch, Fort, Mumbai.

“However, these bills were returned unpaid by the banks concerned since there were instances of diversion of funds and misrepresentations by the companies,” the official said.

“The SBI’s internal enquiry revealed irregularities such as issuance of multiple invoices, false lorry receipts showing incorrect vehicle registration numbers and vehicles other than heavy goods vehicles for transportation,” he said.

The official said the agency searched 17 places in Mumbai, Raigad, Malegaon and Amravati and seized incriminating documents.