The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) on Thursday arrested National Conference (NC) leader and ex-Finance Minister Rahim Rather’s son Hilal Rather who was taken into custody in a bank fraud case.
An ACB spokesman said the bank fraud case was connected to the Paradise Avenue Township Project, in which “loan amounting to crores of rupees was siphoned off.” The spokesman said there was alleged misappropriation of crores of rupees from term loans running into ₹177 crores sanctioned by the Jammu and Kashmir Bank “for his ambitious township project known as Paradise Avenue at Narwal Bala Jammu in 2012.”
“The funds diverted have been used to purchase properties abroad and holidaying abroad with family and friends. All the loan amounts availed by Mr. Rather... have become NPA. Further investigation is in progress,” said the spokesman.
Paradise Avenue is a partnership concern of Rather, Dr. Rizwan Raheem Dar, Ghulam Muhammad Bhatt of Baramulla in Kashmir and Daljeet Wadhera and Deepshikha Jamwal of Jammu.
The sanctioned loan was for ₹74.27 crores in the first phase and in a relaxation of the credit policy of the bank, which restricts loan to a partnership firm at ₹40 crore, the loan was approved by the Board of Directors of the J&K Bank even as Rather had already entered into a one-time settlement with the State Financial Corporation in the past. The remaining loan amount was granted by the board, despite the fact that the repayments of the first loan taken was not complete, the spokesman said.
Rather owns Simula Group of Companies and was being questioned for the last few months by the ACB. The spokesman said he was was not forthcoming with details of property raised and other transaction “related to siphoning of funds meant for construction.”
