Rotomac promoter in trouble, accused of Rs 3,695 crore fraud

After billionaire diamond merchant Nirav Modi, Rotomac pen promoter Vikram Kothari has landed in trouble with the CBI registering a case against him on charges of siphoning off bank loans to the tune of Rs 3,695 crore.

Besides Kothari, the chairman and managing director of Kanpur-headquartered Rotomac Rotomac Global Pvt Ltd, his wife Sadhana and son Rahul were also named in the CBI FIR filed on Sunday night on a complaint filed by Bank of Baroda on behalf of a consortium of seven banks.

Kothari, his wife and son were questioned by the CBI while searches were conducted at three places in Kanpur.

The CBI has also sealed a residential premise and an office of Rotomac directors in New Delhi.

"It was claimed in the complaint that in the Rotomac case, conspirators cheated a consortium of seven banks by siphoning off bank loans to the tune of Rs 2,919 crore (principal amount). This does not include the interest liabilities of these loans. Total outstanding amount, along with interest liabilities for M/s Rotomac, is Rs 3,695 crore," a CBI spokesperson said.

Banks which provided loans are Bank of India, Bank of Baroda, Bank of Maharashtra, Indian Overseas Bank, Union Bank of India, Allahabad Bank and Oriental Bank of Commerce.

The Rotomac case is the latest scam to break out after the sensational Rs 11,344.40 crore fraud case against Nirav and his uncle Mehul Choksi, who is a promoter of Gitanjali group of companies.

Last year, the Bank of Baroda, a consortium partner, had declared Rotomac Global Pvt Ltd a "wilful defaulter" following which the latter moved the Allahabad High Court seeking removal of its name from the list.

The high court had contended that it has been wrongly declared a "wilful defaulter" by the bank despite having "offered assets worth more than Rs 300 crore to the bank since the date of default".

Kothari has earlier said, "Though banks have declared my company as a non-performing asset (NPA), I am not a defaulter. The matter is still sub judice with the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT). I am regularly in touch with the banks and am constantly cooperating with them. I availed the loans and will repay them soon."