ED searches Vadodara firm accused in Rs 2,654 cr fraud

The ED on Monday carried out searches at Vadodara-based Diamond Power Infrastructure Ltd (DPIL) and its directors who are accused of defrauding a consortium of 11 banks of a Rs 2,654.40 crore loan that was declared a non-performing asset in 2016-17.

The ED, which registered a money laundering case based on Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) FIR, conducted raids at the corporate office, factory premises and the residences of the directors of the firm.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on March 26 had filed an FIR against the DPIL, its founder Suresh Narain Bhatnagar and his sons and directors of the firm Amit and Sumit. The central agency has also issued Look Out Circular against the accused persons whose anticipatory bail petition is reserved in Ahmedabad court for Tuesday.

DPIL, which is engaged in the production of cables and other electrical equipment, through its management has fraudulently availed credit facilities from a consortium of 11 banks since 2008, leaving behind a total outstanding debit of Rs 2,654.40 crore as of June 29, 2016, according to the FIR.

The company managed to get term loans and credit facilities, in spite of the fact that they were already appearing in the Reserve Bank of India's list of defaulters and the caution list of Export Credit Guarantee Corporation of India at the time of initial sanction of credit limits by the consortium, it said.

Bank of India, which tops the list with Rs 670.51 crore of loans, is followed by Bank of Baroda (Rs 348.99 crore), ICICI (Rs 279.46 crore), State Bank of India (Rs 266.37 crore), Axis Bank (Rs 255.32 crore), Allahabad Bank (Rs 227.96), Dena Bank (Rs 177.19 crore), Corporation Bank (109.12 crore), Exim Bank of India (Rs 81.92 crore), IOB (Rs 71.59) and IFCI (58.53 crore).

The CBI FIR said DPIL, through its founder and directors associated in the criminal conspiracy with the unidentified bank officials of various banks, cheated those banks by way of misappropriating public funds through falsification of accounts, creation of false documents, forgery of records and knowingly using such records as genuine.

--IANS

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