CBI has no input on fugitive businessman Nitin Sandesara: Sources

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has no input on fugitive businessmen Nitin Sandesara's whereabouts, from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) or Nigeria, confirmed a CBI source.

Sandesara, director of a Gujarat-based pharma company Sterling Biotech, is wanted in a Rs 5,000 crore bank fraud case.

The businessman and his brother Chetan Sandesara fled from the country last year along with family members before the CBI could register an FIR against them, for allegedly defrauding a consortium of state-owned banks.

Following the FIR several movable and immovable properties of the Sandesara brothers were attached under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.

During the investigation, the Enforcement Directorate found that several companies promoted by the Sandesara brothers had fraudulently obtained credit facilities of more than Rs 5000 Crores from various banks, which subsequently turned into Non-Performing Assets (NPAs).

The loans were sanctioned by a consortium of banks led by Andhra Bank, UCO Bank, State Bank of India, Allahabad Bank and Bank of India. The probe further revealed that the promoters set up more than 300 shell and benami companies in India and abroad to divert and misuse loan funds, manipulate balance sheets and fudging other documents to inflate turnovers and insider shares trading.

The Sandesaras reportedly controlled these shell and benami companies through dummy directors, who were shown as employees of various companies of the Sterling Group.