CBI files charge sheet against industrialist A C Muthiah in graft case

The CBI has filed a charge sheet against A C Muthiah, an industrialist and cricket administrator, for allegedly cheating Syndicate Bank to the tune of Rs 102.87 crore, officials said here today.

The promoters of First Leasing Company of India (FLCI) Muthiah, then chairman, and Farouk Irani, then managing director, have been charged by the agency with criminal conspiracy, cheating, forgery and destruction of evidence in the document filed before a Chennai special court, they said.

"It was alleged that the said Chennai-based company (a public limited non-banking financial company) was banking with Syndicate Bank, Corporate Finance Branch, Chennai since 2004.

"The accounting data base maintained was in Oracle' which allowed the said Company to alter/manipulate it through back-end process," the Central Bureau of Investigation said in a statement.

It said FLCI had been allegedly showing inflated income and assets over the years since 1998.

CBI spokesperson R K Gaur said the agency, during its probe, found that the accused, along with seven satellite and shell companies, in furtherance of a "conspiracy" with statutory and internal auditors, had allegedly cheated the bank by submitting forged financial statements to obtain undue credit limits.

He said the company allegedly siphoned off the funds for extraneous uses and caused wrongful loss of Rs. 102.87 crore (approx.) to the bank.

"The investigation has also disclosed that the promoter-directors had allegedly misappropriated the assets of the company entrusted to them by using such loaned money to donate annually to a trust run by the said accused (Muthiah)," Gaur said.