New Delhi, June 17 (IANS) Cracking the whip against white collar crimes, the CBI has booked a Delhi-registered metal production company and its directors for defrauding Punjab National Bank of Rs 247 crore.

The federal agency booked Apple Industries and its officials on the complaint of Kamal Agarwal, Chief Manager, Zonal Sastra Centre, Punjab National Bank, Bhikaji Cama Place.

The bank said that the borrower company and five other accused committed the offences of cheating, criminal breach of trust, misappropriation and illegal diversion of bank funds.

The FIR registered on June 4 said that the accused also indulged in fabrication of ‘documents to defraud PNB, thereby causing wrongful loss of Rs 247.84 crore and corresponding wrongful gain to themselves’.

The Bank Securities and Fraud Branch (BS&FB) of CBI, Delhi, registered the case against Apple Industries Limited, which has its registered office at Netaji Subhash Palace, Pitampura, its promoter Pawan Kumar Garg, Narendra Kumar Garg, Yogender Kumar Garg, Akash Gupta, Ashish Garg and unknown public servants and private persons.

According to PNB’s complaint filed in CBI, the company was carrying on business activities of manufacturing, production and trading in sponge iron and billets, and Pawan Kumar Garg, resident of Banjara Hills, Hyderabad, was its promoter.

The bank said in its complaint that the company was sanctioned a credit facility in 2008 – a term loan of Rs 58 crore and cash credit of Rs 15 crore.

“The said sanction was duly accepted by the Board of the Borrower/AIL and the necessary Board Resolution was passed whereby it was agreed to execute loaning and security document for availing credit facilities and to create Equitable Mortgage with Applicant Bank by deposit of title deeds as security of the Company’s all immovable properties situated at Village Dhiral, Raidurg Tq, Anantpur District, Andhra Pradesh, together with building and structures thereto and all machinery attached to the earth or permanently fastened to anything attached to the earth,” the bank said in its complaint.

Citing reports of the Income Tax department and the Department of Financial Services (DFS) and its own forensic audit, the bank raised the suspicion of fraud by the company.

“The Income Tax Department submitted letter dated December 13, 2018 to DFS conveying that the group entities didn’t appear to have adequate asset and bank loans may have been siphoned off and the information has been corroborated by our records,” said the bank’s complaint, raising doubts about loan money being sent to group entities in Hong Kong.

“The accused in connivance and in furtherance of criminal conspiracy with one another and others have caused wrongful gain to themselves and wrongful loss to the bank to the tune of Rs 247.84 crore, apart from interest due from the date of non-performing asset,” the bank said.

“It is, therefore, requested to book the culprits under applicable provisions of law and to take the requisite action against the offending persons for committing the offences of fraud, criminal misappropriation, cheating and criminal breach of trust punishable under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita,” said Kamal Agarwal, Chief Manager, Zonal Sastra Centre, PNB.

–IANS

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