E-Paper
CBI files bank fraud case worth ₹6,833 crore against Kanpur-based firm
Shri Lakshmi Cotsyn, currently under liquidation, used to be the supplier of Walmart for a long time. The company manufactured blended suiting and shirting, quilted fabrics, denim, terry towel, readymade garments, technical textile fabrics etc.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has registered a case against Kanpur based Shri Lakshmi Cotsyn and its Chairman-cum-Managing Director Mata Prasad Agarwal for cheating a consortium of 10 banks led by the Central Bank of India of ₹6,833 crore, which officials described as one of the biggest banking frauds in recent years.
The agency teams on Saturday carried out raids at nine locations including Noida, Roorkee, Fatehpur and Kanpur.
Shri Lakshmi Cotsyn, currently under liquidation, used to be the supplier of Walmart for a long time. The company manufactured blended suiting and shirting, quilted fabrics, denim, terry towel, readymade garments, technical textile fabrics etc.
CBI spokesperson R C Joshi said – “It was alleged that the company had reported inflated inventory records, auction process was not fairly organized and voluminous sale transactions were carried out with undisclosed related parties. The funds were allegedly siphoned/diverted by the company and these amounts to fraudulent removal or concealment of property etc to prevent distribution among creditors”.
He added that the credit facilities granted to the accused was classified as fraud on July 20, 2020.
Apart from the CMD, the CBI has named as accused the company’s joint MD - Pawan Kumar Agarwal, director Sharda Agarwal, and deputy MD Devesh Narain Gupta.
A forensic audit carried out by Grant Thornton had revealed massive irregularities in the transactions of the company between 2010 and 2018 as well as diversion of public money.
The liquidation process for the company is currently on and the latest e-auction notice for the same was published on August 4.
HT tried to locate the representatives of the company but contact numbers at its Corporate Office in Noida and Kanpur office weren’t working.
