CBI carries out searches at six locations in Mumbai

The CBI has carried out searches at six locations in Mumbai in connection with a Rs 1,400-crore loan default allegedly by an aluminium foil manufacturing firm, officials said Thursday.

The CBI has registered nine separate cases against Parekh Aluminex for allegedly defaulting on the loans taken from nine banks led by the Indian Overseas Bank, Mumbai between 2004-12, they said.

These funds were allegedly availed by the company on the basis of fabricated documents and fake balance sheets, they said.

The loans were declared as non-performing assets causing a loss of Rs 1,446 crore to the consortium, they said.

It is alleged that the company round tripped a sizeable portion of the loan funds to the other companies through shell firms showing payments to Mumbai-based Kamlesh Kanungo group, Kirti Kedia group and J K Shah group, they said.

It is also alleged that funds were transferred to Kamlesh Kanungo group to the tune of Rs 468 crore as false payments for supplying machinery and raw material, Rs 513 crore to Kirti Kedia group as payment for construction works and Rs 110 crore to J K Shah shown as financial brokerage.

Based on the first case registered against the company in 2017, the searches were carried out at the offices of these three companies and residences of their promoters. They searches began earlier this week and completed Wednesday night, officials said.