The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has booked Nutrionex Manufacturers Limited and others for allegedly cheating a consortium of five banks to the tune of ₹979.15 crore.
The agency has also named Prem Chand Garg and Anita Garg as accused. The case has been registered on a complaint from the consortium-lead, State Bank of India (SBI).
The alleged fraud was detected during a forensic audit of transactions made from April 2014 to August 2018. The account had turned a non-performing asset (NPA) in March 2017.
The borrowing company, earlier known as Lal Mahal Limited, was engaged in the trade and export of rice. Its group concern, Kannu Aditya (India) Limited, was also in the same business and had an exposure of ₹245.44 crore from the SBI. That account also turned an NPA in June 2017. The group’s total exposure with the SBI is ₹945.99 crore.
According to the First Information Report, the company also operates power plants and windmill projects in Gujarat and Tamil Nadu.
The group entity was also into the manufacture and export of gold jewellery and precious stones to Dubai, the United States, and Europe. However, the business was discontinued after the Directorate Revenue of Intelligence conducted searches in December 2016.
The FIR alleges formation of shell companies to divert funds and evade taxes. The windmill business was transferred to Audentius Trade Links India Private Limited, which was allegedly found to be a shell company.
Huge transactions in gold were shown with a company named Diamond International Trading FZE, but that company’s credentials could not be verified. It, therefore, appeared to be a fictitious entity.
