Two traders arrested for cheating IFCI of Rs 5 crore

Two businessmen from Maharashtra were arrested for allegedly having duped a government body of R5 crore by misrepresenting facts about their respective firms, the economic offences wing (EOW) said.

Two businessmen from Maharashtra were arrested for allegedly having duped a government body of Rs 5 crore by misrepresenting facts about their respective firms, the economic offences wing (EOW) said.

HT Image

The accused were identified as one Ashok Kumar Rathi, 51, a resident of Nagpur and the director of one Maven Industries Limited, and his associate Vijay B. Shethia, 47, a resident of Mumbai and the director of a firm named Jayesh Oil Trade Private Limited.

“The companies of both the accused dealed in the trade and manufacture of edible oil,” said Sandeep Goel, joint commissioner of police (EOW). “They were arrested from Maharashtra and brought to Delhi this week.” According to the EOW, their arrests followed investigations into a case registered by the EOW on a complaint by one Tapabarata Mohitra, a senior associate vice-president of the Industrial Finance Corporation of India (IFCI) Ltd, in 2012.

Mohitra, in his compliant, had stated that Maven Industries Ltd had approached the IFCI for a loan with Rathi telling the bank that he had to supply soya refined oil to Jayesh Oil Trade Pvt. Ltd and needed capital.

The corporation had provided him a loan of Rs 5 crore on the basis of, what police investigation later revealed were forged, bills of the purported supply of soya products and soya refined oil worth Rs 5.90 crore.