Cash-for-loan: Temptation Food head sent to CBI custody

A special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court on Thursday remanded Vineet Kumar, managing director of Temptation Foods, to CBI custody till April 26 in connection with the cash-for-loan scam.

A special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court on Thursday remanded Vineet Kumar, managing director of Temptation Foods, to CBI custody till April 26 in connection with the cash-for-loan scam.

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Kumar, who is also involved in an alleged commercial espionage case registered in Delhi, was lodged at Tihar jail. The CBI on Thursday brought him to Mumbai and produced him before the special court, which remanded him to CBI custody.

On April 11, the CBI had registered a fresh case in connection with the cash-for-loan scam involving the Life Insurance Corporation of India and some major public sector banks, and has booked a senior Punjab National Bank (PNB) official, three directors of the two financial services companies, and the chairman and managing director of Temptation Foods.

Apart from Kumar, those booked in the fresh first information report (FIR) include Venkoba Gujjal, deputy general manager of PNB, Sunil Singla and Murli Singla, both directors of Portfolio Financial Services, Mumbai and Dipesh Seth, director of Imperial Financial Services, Mumbai. The Singlas and Seth are absconding.

Gujjal was also arrested in the earlier case involving Money Matters last year. He was arrested on April 13 in connection with the fresh case.

The CBI suspects that Portfolio and Imperial facilitated loans to five companies with Gujjal’s help and by paying bribes. The agency is also investigating an application by Kumar submitted in 2009-10 seeking loan of Rs170 crore, for which Gujjal was allegedly paid a bribe of Rs20 lakh.