S. Srinivasan, a popular actor, producer and doctor from Tamil Nadu, has been arrested for allegedly running a racket which cheated several firms and individuals on the pretext of giving loans. The accused allegedly charged crores of rupees upfront as “advance amount” to sanction loans worth hundred times as much and instead of providing the loans, invested the money in producing films, said the police.
Among the nine victims who allegedly fell into the trap laid by Dr. S. Srinivasan was a Delhi-based businessman who approached the Delhi Police Economic Offences Wing this January.
“In his complaint it was alleged that in December 2010, some persons approached M/s Blue Coast Infrastructure Development Pvt. Ltd. and posed as consultants who would help the company in obtaining loan of Rs.1,000 crore. He was then taken to Chennai for a meeting with Dr. S. Srinivasan at his office,” said Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (EOW) Harendra K. Singh.
To convince the complainant that their offer was genuine, Srinivasan even showed the bank statements of his firm M/s Baba Trading Company which showed that the balance in the account was over Rs.1000 crore.
“They further laid down a condition that to secure the loan, Blue Coast was required to pay upfront payment of Rs.5 crore. The amount, as told to the complainant, was proposed to be used by the lender (Srinivasan) for purchase of special adhesive stamp, the value of which was calculated to be 0.5 per cent of the loan amount and the complainant company was told that the amount was refundable,” Mr. Singh said.
Blue Coast made the payment through a bank draft and the two companies entered into a loan agreement on January 24, 2011. The actor even issued post-dated cheques against the payment of Rs.5 crore. Mr. Singh added that the actor neither arranged the loan nor returned money to the complainant. After several rounds of negotiations to settle the dispute amicably failed, the complainant approached the EOW.
