CBI arrests promoters, directors of Vadodara company in Rs 2654 crore loan-default case

NEW DELHI: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Wednesday arrested the promoters and directors of Diamond Power Infrastructure Ltd, a Vadodara-based firm accused of an alleged loan default.

The probe agency arrested Suresh Narain Bhatnagar, Amit Bhatnagar, and Sumit Bhatnagar, as part of an ongoing investigation, for allegedly cheating numerous banks by falsification of accounts, the creation of false documents, and forgery of record.

Last week, the CBI had registered a case against the aforementioned company and its directors for defrauding 11 banks to the tune of Rs 2654 crore.

It is alleged that M/s DPIL, through its management, had fraudulently availed Credit Facilities from a Consortium of 11 Banks (Public Sector and Private Sector) since 2008, leaving behind an outstanding debt of Rs. 2654.40 crore as on June 29, 2016.

The company and its directors managed to get the term loans and credit facilities, in spite of the fact that they were already appearing on the defaulters list of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and Export Credit Guarantee Corporation (ECGC) caution list at the time of initial sanction of credit limits by the consortium.

It was also reported that at the time of formation of the Consortium in 2008, Axis Bank was the lead bank for the term loan, while Bank of India was the lead bank for CC Limits.