The troubles of the country’s well-known industrialist Anil Ambani are showing no sign of abating. Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), taking immediate action on a complaint by Punjab National Bank (PNB), has registered a criminal case against Anil Ambani, his company Reliance Communications (RCom) and former director Manjari Ashok Kakkar for alleged bank fraud of more than Rs 1,085 crore.
PNB lost Rs 621.39 crore
The roots of this entire matter are related to the time between 2013 and 2017. It is alleged that during this period, large scale manipulation was done with two big government banks. Santoshkrishna Annavarpu, Chief Manager of PNB’s ‘Stressed Assets Management Branch’ in Mumbai, had lodged an official complaint in this regard on March 5.
If we look at the figures, Punjab National Bank has directly suffered a loss of Rs 621.39 crore due to this alleged scam. At the same time, United Bank of India (which has now been merged with PNB) has suffered a loss of Rs 463.80 crore. Overall this amount comes to Rs 1,085.19 crore, which is a major part of the public funds present in the banking system.
Secrets revealed in audit report
According to the CBI FIR, the accused allegedly got a huge credit facility (loan) approved for RCom as part of a conspiracy. The investigating agency suspects that after taking the loan, financial discipline and stipulated conditions were grossly ignored.
The amount received as loan was not used for the purpose for which it was taken. Funds were diverted elsewhere. When the bank installments stopped coming, these loan accounts were declared non-performing assets (NPA) in the year 2017 due to non-compliance of the terms by the borrowers. To go deeper into the matter, the banks got a forensic audit done by ‘BDO India LLP’. This audit report, which came out in February 2021, confirmed the diversion of bank funds and suspicious transactions with related parties, after which these accounts were officially classified as ‘fraud’.
CBI tightened its grip
Based on PNB’s complaint, CBI has registered a case under sections 120B (criminal conspiracy) and 420 (cheating) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). Along with this, provisions of Prevention of Corruption Act have also been imposed. In the FIR, some unknown people and unknown government employees have also been kept under investigation on suspicion of being involved in this conspiracy.