The Central Bureau of Investigation has booked Ethnic Spices Private Limited and others for allegedly cheating the State Bank of India to the tune of ₹41.97 crore.
Among those named in the case are the company’s managing director, Tadisetty Venkata Rao and director Tadisetty Murali Mohan.
It is alleged that the company had taken cash credit and stand-by line of credit of ₹40 crore in 2013 for the purpose of trading of chillies and tobacco products. However, due to non-payment of the dues, the account was declared a non-performing asset in February 2019 and it was classified as a fraud in January 2020.
The bank alleged that the accused persons submitted inflated or manipulated stock statements to get higher drawing power and intentionally diverted the loan funds to their personal accounts and related firms.
It is alleged that properties were purchased using the funds diverted from the Ethnic Tobacco India Limited through the personal account of Tadisetty Murali Mohan.