CHENNAI: The CBI has registered a case against a Chennai-based company trading in coconut products for cheating Bank of Baroda of Rs 7.55 crore with regard to a loan given to them in 2021.
The case was registered on June 17 after getting necessary permissions from the state government as Tamil Nadu had withdrawn general consent to the central agency in 2023.
The CBI said it received a complaint from the bank’s Chennai regional head that a partnership firm Monica Co Products, established in 2020 by K Pavalabalan and G Palanivel, had taken a loan of Rs 7.6 crore from the bank in September 2021. The firm had mortgaged 23 vacant plots in Adhanoor and Orathoor village as collateral for the loan.
However, a preventive vigilance audit in December 2022 and zonal inter departmental audit in July 2023 found the firm had submitted fabricated title deeds and layout plans of all the properties in collusion with Malaivel Sugumaran, a panelled valuer, and C Ramesh, an empanelled advocate.
The loan soon turned a non-performing asset in August 2023 due to non-payment of interest. This is when the bank conducted an investigation and declared the account as fraud after a forensic audit, and reported it to the RBI on November 7, 2023.
Based on this, CBI registered an FIR under various sections of corruption, fraud, cheating and forgery against Pavalabalan, K Radha, Monica Co Products, Malaivel Sugumaran, C Ramesh and unknown civil servants.