India News | CBI Books Cethar Ltd in Bank Fraud Case of Rs 163 Crore

New Delhi, Mar 14 (PTI) The CBI has filed an FIR against Cethar Limited and its Chairman K Subburaj and Managing Director N K Pothiraj for allegedly cheating Canara Bank to the tune of Rs 163 crore in loan defaults, officials said on Monday.

The company started operating in 1981 in Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu and is engaged in building industrial boilers, power sector equipment among others.

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It had availed credit facilities worth over Rs 1344.96 crore from a consortium of eight member banks led by Indian Bank, they said.

Canara Bank, one of the eight consortium members, had an exposure of Rs 270.89 crore in the total credit facilities availed by the company, they said.

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The account was declared a non-performing asset in 2015 following which a forensic audit was conducted by the consortium member banks which showed that the intention of the company was to conceal its financial dealings, the FIR said.

It alleged that end use of the funds borrowed by the company from the consortium was not in accordance with the terms and conditions of the loan which indicated a "possible fraudulent diversion of funds" by the company.

The bank has alleged that the company also suppressed its credit ratings while availing facilities from it.

It claimed that allegations against the company are acts of crime and not genuine business losses.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)