The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has registered a case against IL&FS Transportation Network Limited and its then directors for allegedly cheating 19 banks of about ₹6,524 crore as on October 31, 2021.
Among those named in the First Information Report (FIR) are the Mumbai-based company’s then managing director Karunakaran Ramchand, director Deepak Das Gupta, whole-time director Mukund Gajanan Sapre and then chief financial officer Dilip Lalchand Bhatia.
The CBI has conducted searches on the premises of the accused persons in Delhi, Gurugram and Mumbai.
The FIR, which has been registered on a complaint from the leading lender, Canara Bank, mentioned that as per the resolution process adopted under the supervision of the government of India, the overall claim earlier admitted by the company was ₹19,174 crore.
However, of the total 32 secured financial creditors (including Canara Bank), 19 lenders provided the mandate for filing a complaint with the CBI, involving about ₹6,524 crore.
The company, a subsidiary of IL&FS Limited, is developer, operator and facilitator of surface transportation infrastructure projects, for conceptualisation through commissioning of operations and maintenance under public private partnerships on the Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) basis in India. It is the largest BOT road asset owner in India and a market leader in the transport infrastructure sector having its presence in metro rail, city bus service and border check posts, said the FIR.
For its business, the company had availed itself of various credit facilities under the multiple banking arrangement. Canara Bank, being the largest lender, had sanctioned ₹500 crore in loan and external commercial borrowings of $75 million through its London branch and $50 million via the e-Syndicate Bank’s London branch. Owing to the alleged irregularities in the credit facilities, the account turned a non-performing asset on December 30, 2018, in Canara Bank. Based on a forensic audit report, it was declared a fraud in September 2021, said the FIR.
