CBI, ED oppopse Sivasankaran's plea for recall of look-out circular

The CBI and the ED on Monday opposed in the Madras High Court the plea of Aircel founder and industrialist C Sivasankaran seeking recall of the look-out circular issued against him in an alleged Rs 600 crore loan scam involving the IDBI Bank.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) contended Sivasankaran might tamper with evidence if allowed to go abroad while the Enforcement Directorate (ED) said it was also probing the matter under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and he had failed to appear for questioning despite three summons.

The two agencies made the submissions in their counter affidavits before Justice A D Jagdish Chandra, hearing the petition by Sivasankaran challenging the look-out circular (LOC) based on which he was prevented from leaving Chennai airport for Italy in January this year.

The LOC was issued by the Foreigner Regional Registration Officer (FRRO), Bureau of Immigration, in connection with the FIR registered by the CBI on April 13, 2018 against Sivasankaran and several others for allegedly defaulting on loans worth Rs 600 crore taken from IDBI Bank.

The FIR was registered based on directions from the Central Vigilance Commission which had sought a CBI probe into the sanction of loans to Win Wind Oy, Finland, and Axcel Sunshine Limited by senior managers of IDBI bank in violation of guidelines, thereby causing wrongful loss of over Rs 600 crore to the bank.

The CBI counter, filed by its DSP Ravindra Badnkal, Bank Securities Fraud branch, said a loan of Rs 322 crore was allegedly given by IDBI Bank in October, 2010 to Win Wind Oy in which the petitioner was a director and it turned into a non-performing asset three years later.

The senior management officials of the IDBI Bank Ltd entered into a criminal conspiracy with the company directors who were the promoter directors of Siva Group of companies and abused their official position as public servants in sanctioning the loan.

The counter further said Axcel Sunshine Limited, a British Virgin islands based company and an associate of the Siva Group, got undue finance of Rs 523 crore in flagrant violation of the regulatory guidelines of the Master Circular on Exposure Norms of the RBI and did not repay the loan.

It said petitioner did not produce the relevant documents of his foreign companies related to the present case despite notices being sent.

If the petitioner accused is allowed to go out of India by recalling the LOC issued against him, he may tamper with the relegant documents and evidence," the CBI added.

The ED in its counter affidavit filed by R Kumar, Assistant Director of Enforcement, said on the basis of preliminary investigation and searches conducted in nine office and residential premises found material evidences in terms of obtaining loans against the companies which had become NPAs.

Accordingly, the FRRO was requested to issue necessary LOC against the petitioner and he was required to be examined in the ongoing investigation under the PMLA.

Stating further that the CBI had registered FIR against the petitioner and 37 others exclusive of some unknown public servants and others, the ED said investigation on the aspects of their role and complexity in the offence was yet to be completed.

Besides, in spite of three summons from ED, the petitioner had failed to appear before it. His appearance may be required on future dates based on the developments of investigation, the ED counter said.

Meanwhile, Sivasankaran, who claims to be a Seychelles national and an Ambassador-at-Large of the Republic of Seychelles, filed an additional affidavit giving an undertaking that he will intimate his travel dates and itinerary with regard to his abroad travel.

Judge Chandra directed the ED and CBI to get instructions on the additional affidavit filed by the petitioner within two weeks and adjourned the matter.

In his petition, Sivasankaran has contended that his name was erroneously included in the FIR causing damage to his reputation and the diplomatic relationship between Seychelles and India.

The industrialist was in the centre of Aircel-Maxis probe for alleging that then Telecom Minister Dayanidhi Maran had put pressure on him to sell his company to a Malaysian telecom tycoon, a case in which Maran brothers have been discharged by a special court.