CHENNAI: In a 22-year-old bank fraud case, a CBI special court on Thursday, sentenced 15 persons to three years of imprisonment, including three senior officials of a Chennai-based bank, on charges of defrauding the bank to the tune of Rs 29.87 crore, in connection with a loan provided to a food import and export company in 1997.
According to the prosecution, Enkay Foods Pvt Ltd obtained a loan of Rs 29,87,09, 541 crore in 1997 from the Muthialapet branch, Puducherry, for carrying out an import and export business of food products with a company based in Singapore called MVR Industries Ltd. However, after a period of time, the company defaulted on the loan payments.
The CBI anti-corruption bureau that took up the cases, filed a charge sheet against 19 of them that included even the Chief General Manager of the bank. It is alleged that a total of five bank officials in collusion with the food export company, provided the loan.
The companies obtaining the money, had funnelled the same overseas, by creating various other companies that were bogus resulting in a scam, said a counsel for the bank officials.
In 2003, the CBI registered cases against 19 of them on charges of corruption and cheating. The court examined a total of 77 witnesses in the case during the trial.
The CBI eighth additional court on Thursday, was filled with people and the judge A Thiruneelaprasad observed that the prosecution has proved the case beyond doubt and sentenced 15 of them to three years of rigorous imprisonment along with a fine amount of Rs 2,45,000 and acquitted four others in the case.
It is alleged that a total of six companies had obtained the loan from various banks to the tune of Rs 180 crore and the cases are underway in the CBI court and Thursday’s verdict was only one among the six.