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The State Bank of India (SBI) filed a complaint with the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) against three promoters of Ram Dev International for allegedly cheating a consortium of six banks to the tune of Rs 411 crore.
The CBI, however, informed that the promoters have already fled the country and the SBI complained it about the alleged defaulters four years after the incident.
The CBI had recently booked the company engaged in export of Basmati rice to the West Asian and European countries and its directors Naresh Kumar, Suresh Kumar and Sangita on the basis of a complaint from the State Bank of India (SBI), which suffered the loss of more than Rs 173 crore, CBI officials were quoted in media.
The SBI in its complaint had said that the company had three rice milling plants, besides eight sorting and grading units in the Karnal district with offices in Saudi Arabia and Dubai for trading purposes.
The CBI informed that the other members of consortium are Canara Bank, Union Bank of India, IDBI, Central Bank of India and Corporation Bank while adding that it did not carry out any searches in the matter because of the coronavirus-induced lockdown.
The agency will start the process of summoning the accused, in case they do not join the investigation, appropriate legal action will be initiated, CBI officials said.
According to the complaint filed by SBI, the account had become non-performing asset (NPA) on January 27, 2016. But the complaint was only filed four years later, in February 2020.
The banks conducted a joint inspection of properties in August and October, nearly 7-9 months later only to find Haryana Police security guards deployed there, the officials said.
"On inquiry, it has been come to notice that borrowers are absconding and have left the country," the complaint filed on February 25, 2020, the officials said.
The complaint alleged that borrowers had removed entire machinery from old plant and fudged the balance sheets in order to unlawfully gain at the cost of banks' funds, the CBI said.