CBI files fresh fraud case against Unitech, its former directors
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has filed a new case against the real estate firm Unitech Limited and its former directors in connection with an alleged fraud in the IDBI bank involving an amount of Rs.395 crore. Nearly six months after a complaint from the bank, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has booked the company and its former promoters and directors Ramesh Chandra and his sons Ajay Chandra and Sanjay Chandra under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections dealing with criminal conspiracy and cheating and provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act, the CBI officials said.
Another probe
The accused Unitech founders are facing another CBI probe pertaining to alleged fraud in the Canara Bank. The company was allegedly enjoying a vendor bill discounting (VBD) facility, a kind of credit, of Rs.400 crore from the IDBI bank in 2012, the officials said. “Due to slowdown in real estate sector and pile up of inventory, the company was facing liquidity mismatch, and the payment of VBD bills was delayed,” the complaint, now a part of the FIR, said.
74 projects to divert fund offshore
The company agreed to pay for the liability and sought a rupee term loan of Rs.395 crore, taking over the liability of VBD, the officials said. According to the complaint, the exposure of the IDBI bank on Unitech was Rs.974.78 crore as on June 30, 2022. CBI said a Supreme Court-directed forensic audit of the company conducted by Grant Thornton showed that the funds received from home-buyers in 74 projects were siphoned off and diverted to offshore tax havens.
Suspension of Unitech board
The transactions were undisclosed, and disclosed related entities were found in the audit, which prompted the apex court to suspend the existing board of Unitech Limited, the complaint said. Another forensic audit by the IDBI bank for the 2015-2018 period concluded that the borrower company had committed fraud, diversion, and misappropriation of funds. The bank asked the CBI to lodge a “suitable case” under the appropriate sections of law for perpetrating a fraud on it to the tune of Rs.395 crore, the officials said.
Unitech promoters shifted from Tihar jail
The downfall of Unitech Group, which once emerged as India’s second-largest real estate company, started in early 2011 when Sanjay Chandra was arrested in a 2G Scam. Later he was arrested in other cases for cheating home buyers in the real estate sector. For the past few years, promoter Ramesh Chandra and sons Ajay Chandra and Sanjay Chandra and Sanjay’s wife Preeti Chandra are languishing in prison. Recently, the Supreme Court ordered to shift of the brothers to separate Mumbai jails for bribing Delhi prison officials and operating their illegal activities from Delhi’s Tihar prison.[1]
Reference:
[1] Supreme Court allows ED to rely on forensic auditors’ reports for charge sheets against Unitech ex-promoters – Feb 10, 2022, PGurus.com
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Rarely hear any govt officials being sacked or booked for corruption. Unitech & DLF are Khangress front companies and is known to all. They are involved in converting black to white and is known to all Delhites and many have also benefitted from it.
I wish the colluding bank officers are also brought to justice.