The CBI has arrested Nilesh Parekh, the then promoter of Kolkata-based jeweller Shree Ganesh Jewellery House, in a case involving allegations of defrauding 20 public sector banks (PSBs) of Rs 2,223.13 crore.
“The accused earlier fled India for Dubai. He was intercepted at the Mumbai Airport while coming from Dubai,” an official statement from the CBI said.
The investigating agency registered the case against the private firm on a complaint from the SBI.
It was alleged that the accused had defrauded the banks through diversion of funds and fraudulent exports to various shell companies floated in Hong Kong, Singapore and the UAE, among others.
The banks alleged that the private company availed import finance from one member bank of the consortium for import of gold, but after manufacturing gold jewellery, availed export finance from another bank so that the proceeds of export could not be realised by the banks to pay off the liability of import finance.
“The accused allegedly shipped stocks offered as primary security to its foreign subsidiaries without the knowledge of lenders and also falsely projected huge losses to the banks purportedly suffered through a bogus bullion trade and a merchanting trade for which the banks did not finance,” CBI said.
In another development, CBI has arrested Ashok Nayak, assistant commissioner (central excise), Mumbai, for allegedly taking a bribe of Rs 1.25 crore to settle an ED case against the complainant.
