The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has registered a FIR against Brahmaputra TMT Bars Pvt. Ltd and its two directors, Santosh Jaiswal and Padma Nath Deka, for allegedly committing a loan fraud of Rs 65.73 crore. According to the FIR, in March 2006, the company availed a Term Loan facility of Rs 9 crore and Fund-Based Working Capital of Rs 6 Crore, along with a Non-Fund-Based Limit of Rs 3.50 Crores from SBI for setting up a Billets Plant.
In March 2009, the company was sanctioned another Fresh Term Loan of Rs 9.71 Crore, alongside an enhancement of the Cash Credit Limit from Rs 6.00 Crore to 11.65 Crore and a Non-Fund-Based Limit of Letter of Credit from 3.50 Crore to 6.50 Crore. In November 2009, the CC Limit was further enhanced to Rs 24 Crores, and the LC Limit from 6.50 Crore to Rs 12.50 Crore. In April 2010, a Term Loan of Rs 20 Crore was sanctioned for a 10 MW Captive Power Project (CPP), under a Multi-Banking Arrangement (MBA) with Allahabad Bank and North Eastern Development Finance Corporation (NEDFI) as the other lenders.
In November 2010, the Fund-Based Working Capital Limit was reduced from 24 Crore to Rs 14 Crore. The FIR stated that the borrower company and its directors submitted fake financial statements showing fictitious transactions in order to increase the drawing power, working capital, and term loan from time to time, which caused the loan account to slip to NPA in 2013 with an outstanding balance of Rs 65.73 Crore.
The CBI FIR further said that the accused directors of the company colluded to illegally divert the borrowed funds and misappropriate them for purposes other than what they were sanctioned for, with the intention of defrauding the bank and gaining unlawfully at its cost. An investigation into the case is currently underway.
