Hyderabad: CBI books 31 persons for IDBI Bank loan frauds worth Rs 445 crore

HYDERABAD: A day after Hyderabad based Totem Infrastructure and its directors were booked for duping a consortium of eight banks and obtaining loans to the tune of Rs 1,394 crore, CBI officials in the city registered criminal cases against 31 persons on Friday for duping IDBI Bank to the tune of Rs 445.32 crore after taking loans. Two IDBI Bank officials are among those arrested.

The accused belong to various districts of Andhra Pradesh and Adilabad in Telangana. According to the investigating officials, the accused colluded with IDBI bank officers and bank loan valuers and duped the bank on the pretext of doing business in pisciculture. However, no such activity was undertaken in the lands shown in the loan application forms.

A complaint on the fraud was registered with the CBI on December 14 last year by Manjunath Pai, the Senior Regional Head and general Manager of IDBI Chapel Road branch.  

He alleged a large scale fraud in IDBI bank in processing and sanction of pisciculture loans and other credit limit facilities by then general manager Battu Rama Rao and former CGM R Damodaran. He claimed it was done in conspiracy with 21 aggregator groups consisting of 22 aggregators causing pecuniary loss of Rs 192.98 crore to IDBI. The present outstanding in respect of loans is Rs 445.32 crore.

Based on the complaint, the CBI registered criminal conspiracy, cheating, forgery and criminal misconduct and misappropriation cases on accused.

In a separate incident, CBI also registered cases against 11 other persons for loan fraud amounting to Rs 93.73 crore. The accused include former bank officials. The offence took place in IDBI branch in Guntur and Prakasam districts of Andhra Pradesh. The accused had taken loan and not repaid the amount.

Meanwhile, in the Totem Infra case, the firm’s promoter Tottempudi Salalith and his wife and director in the company Tottempudi Kavita were arrested on Friday. The CBI officials would produce the accused before the court for judicial remand. Later, the agency is likely to file a petition seeking police custody of accused for questioning in connection with the offence.