Mumbai Police EOW files 8th FIR against Cox and Kings for duping NBFC of ₹110 crore

The latest FIR against Cox and Kings was registered by Mumbai Police on November 11 and was recently transferred to the banking (fraud) unit-2 of EOW

The economic offences wing (EOW) of Mumbai Police has registered a fresh first information report (FIR) against global tour and travels company Cox and Kings, its promotor, directors and other employees for allegedly duping the Tourism Finance Corporation of India (TFCI) of ₹110.48 crore. The accused had allegedly availed a loan from the non-banking finance company and later defaulted in repayment.

The latest FIR against Cox and Kings was registered by Mumbai Police on November 11 and was recently transferred to the banking (fraud) unit-2 of EOW.

EOW is investigating seven FIRs against the travel firm for alleged financial frauds collectively involving around ₹2,500 crore. The latest FIR against Cox and Kings was registered on November 11 at NM Joshi Marg police station and was recently transferred to the banking (fraud) unit-2 of EOW.

“It appears that Cox and King has presented its incorrect/falsified financial statements for the period 2017-2019 to justify high creditworthiness for availing financial assistance from TFCI and other banks/institutions (sic),” stated Bishwaroop Tiwari, assistant vice-president (legal), TFCI limited, in the FIR, a copy of which is with HT.

The audit committee of board of TFCI, in its meeting held on August 10, had inferred that “prima-facie, a fraud has been committed by Cox and Kings on account of submission of incorrect/falsified audited/provisional financial statements to illegally avail financial assistance from TFCI and potentially divert funds in with the objective of making them irrecoverable to the borrower i.e. TFCI”, the complainant further stated in the FIR.

In its statement to EOW, Tiwari stated that Cox and Kings along with its promoter Ajay Ajit Peter Kerkar, his wife Urshila, chief finance officer Anil Khandelwal and two others “deliberately and with malafide intention to defraud TFCI” took a loan from it based on “fabricated and false statement of accounts” and subsequently have usurped the said loan amount, and hence, have committed fraud.”

The police have booked the accused under sections under sections 420 (cheating), 406 (criminal breach of trust), 465 (forgery), 467 (forgery of valuable security), 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating), 471 (Using as genuine a forged document or electronic record) and 120B (criminal conspiracy) of Indian Penal Code.

EOW sources said various financial irregularities surfaced during the forensic audit of accounts of Cox and Kings groups, following which details of loan defaults have also emerged.

The last FIR against Cox and Kings was registered by EOW in June by Yes Bank for an alleged ₹523-crore loan default. Previous FIRs against Cox and Kings were lodged on the basis of complaints by Axis, Kotak Mahindra, IndusInd, HDFC and Laxmi Vilas banks as well as a private investment firm.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is probing the money laundering aspect pertaining to the purported irregularities of the company.

Kerkar, Khandelwal, and others have already been arrested and are in judicial custody.

Kerker, too, has filed two counter FIRs against some complainant banks and senior executives of his company for allegedly conspiring and cheating his firm. EOW is investigating these two complaints as well.