CBI books Khaitan Electricals for loan scam

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has booked Khaitan Electricals Limited, a popular brand in the market of ceiling fans and other home appliances, on charges of falsifying accounts to cheat a consortium of banks to the tune of ₹244.92 crore.

Acting on a complaint lodged by G.V. Sastry, Deputy General Manager, State Bank of India, that M/s Khaitan Tibrewala Electricals Private Ltd., which later changed its name to M/s Khaitan Electricals Limited represented by its directors, including Sunil Krishna Khaitan, Sajjan Dabriwal and Swapan Kumar Das, mostly based in Kolkata, had submitted forged documents to cheat lender banks, the CBI’s Economic Offences Wing here registered a case on charges of criminal conspiracy, cheating and forgery among others and also invoked provisions under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.

The SBI, representing the consortium of banks, said the company directors entered into a criminal conspiracy with unknown public servants and other private persons to cheat the banks by falsifying accounts and diverting funds to other-than-sanctioned purposes. The unknown public servants abused their official position and allowed the accused persons to illegally divert the funds and misappropriate the funds of the banks.

While the value of security was ₹28.08 crore the total loss caused to the banks was to the tune of ₹244.92 crore. The offences emerged during a forensic audit conducted by a private firm.

The complainant said that the company had established its brand name in the ceiling fan market and also ventured into home appliances through an outsourcing model for production & marketing.

In another case, the CBI booked M/s Teledata Marine Solutions Limited and its directors Capt. K. Balasubramaniam and K. Padmanabhan, engaged in the business of developing ERP solutions for marine verticals, on charges misappropriating funds and wilfully not repaying a loan and thereby causing a loss of ₹166.16 crore to the State Bank of India.