Ahmedabad, Dec 13 (IANS) A CBI court in Ahmedabad has convicted and sentenced four private individuals to three years’ rigorous imprisonment each, along with a fine of Rs 50,000 per person, in a bank fraud case involving Bank of Baroda, an official statement said on Saturday.

The convicted accused are Manojbhai B. Tanti, Pareshbhai M. Tanti, Poorva Pareshbhai Tanti and Lilavanti M. Tanti, partners of M/s P.M. Marketing, Ahmedabad.

The sentencing was pronounced on Friday, December 12, the statement added.

According to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the case was registered on September 30, 2008, following allegations that the accused, acting in criminal conspiracy and with mala fide intent, submitted fabricated financial statements to fraudulently obtain a cash credit facility of Rs 3 crore from Bank of Baroda.

The CBI investigation revealed that while availing the facility from Bank of Baroda, the accused deliberately suppressed the fact that M/s P.M. Marketing had already availed a cash credit facility from the State Bank of India.

By concealing this material information, the accused caused a wrongful loss of Rs 3.48 crore to Bank of Baroda and secured wrongful gains for themselves, the CBI said.

The probe further established that the partners of M/s P.M. Marketing obtained the Bank of Baroda credit facility on the basis of falsified financial documents and, in conspiracy with officials of the State Bank of India, failed to disclose the earlier credit facility before availing a fresh one.

After completing the investigation, the CBI filed a charge sheet against the accused on December 11, 2009.

Following the trial, the court found all four accused guilty and awarded the sentence accordingly.

The CBI actively investigates bribery cases, leading to convictions of public servants and private individuals in fraud cases, with punishments including imprisonment and hefty fines.

–IANS

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