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CBI To Probe Alleged Rs 3,700 Crore Fraud By Rotomac

CBI files FIR against Rotomac Global, its directors including Vikram Kothari, and unnamed bank officials. 

A customer browses pens in the stationary section of a  store in New Delhi, India. (Photographer: Prashanth Vishwanathan/Bloomberg)
A customer browses pens in the stationary section of a store in New Delhi, India. (Photographer: Prashanth Vishwanathan/Bloomberg)

The Central Bureau of Investigation has registered a first information report against Rotomac Pens promoter Vikram Kothari and his family in connection with a case relating to the alleged swindling of Rs 3,695 crore of bank loan funds, officials said today.

The scam was earlier estimated at around Rs 800 crore.

The case against Kanpur-based Rotomac Global Pvt., its Director Vikram Kothari, his wife Sadhana Kothari, and son Rahul Kothari and unidentified bank officials was filed on a complaint received from Bank of Baroda, officials added.

The agency searched three locations in Kanpur, including Kothari’s residence and office premises. There have been no arrests in the case yet, CBI spokesperson Abhishek Dayal said.

The Enforcement Directorate has also registered a money laundering case against Kothari and his family members in connection with the alleged bank loan fraud of Rs 3,695 crore, officials said. The case was filed under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, after studying the CBI FIR that was registered yesterday.

Enforcement Directorate, the officials said, would probe if the funds obtained through the alleged fraud were laundered and if the proceeds of the crime were subsequently used by the accused to create illegal assets and black money.

According to the complaint from Bank of Baroda, the conspirators allegedly cheated a consortium of bank loans worth Rs 3,695 crore, including the interest component, officials said. The principal involved is Rs 2,919 crore.

This is the second major financial scam to break out after the Rs 11,400 crore fraud allegedly committed by billionaire jewellery designer Nirav Modi and his uncle Mehul Choksi, who is a promoter of Gitanjali group of companies.

Both fled the country before the Punjab National Bank realised the depth of the alleged crime.