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Rotomac Case: CBI Questions Former Bank Of Baroda Chairman, Five Others 

The CBI questions six former senior officials of Bank of Baroda in connection with loan fraud by Rotomac.

Representational image of a CBI team at work. (Photo: PTI)
Representational image of a CBI team at work. (Photo: PTI)

The Central Bureau of Investigation has questioned six former senior officials of Bank of Baroda, including its former Chairman and Managing Director MD Mallya, in connection with the Rs 2,919-crore alleged loan fraud by Rotomac, officials said in New Delhi.

Besides Mallya, former executive directors V Santhanaraman and RK Bakshi were among those questioned by the agency, they said. The owner of Rotomac Global Pvt. Ltd., Vikram Kothari, was arrested by the CBI and is in judicial custody.

The case relates to bank loans worth Rs 2,919 crore given from 2008 onwards to Rotomac Global Pvt. Ltd. by a consortium of seven nationalised banks, the CBI FIR has alleged. The amount rose to Rs 3,695 crore, including the accrued interest, because of repeated defaults on payment, the officials said.

The CBI had initiated the action on the complaint of Bank of Baroda, which was a member of the consortium led by Bank of India, and had approached the agency fearing that Kothari might flee the country like jewellery designer Nirav Modi and his uncle Mehul Choksi.

The principal exposure of the banks regarding the loan in Bank of India is Rs 754.77 crore, Bank of Baroda Rs 456.63 crore, Overseas Bank of India Rs 771.07 crore, Union Bank of India Rs 458.95 crore, Allahabad Bank Rs 330.68 crore, Bank of Maharashtra 49.82 crore and Oriental Bank of Commerce Rs 97.47 crore, the officials said.

Vikram Kothari, his wife Sadhana, and son Rahul were named in the FIR, they said.