India’s Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has registered a case over an alleged ₹212.34 crore loss to Canara Bank, examining loans issued by Syndicate Bank before its merger with the lender.
The CBI said the case followed a complaint from Canara Bank. The Times of India reported that the complaint came from the lender’s Circle Office in Bandra (East), Mumbai, and that the case was registered Oct. 21. The named parties include IL&FS Energy Development Company Limited and Sunil Wadhwa, Anoop Seth, Hari Sankaran, Ramesh Chandra Bawa and Arun Kumar Saha. The case also names unknown public servants and private individuals.
The CBI statement describes a ₹100 crore loan from Syndicate Bank’s Large Corporate Branch in Mumbai and a US$50 million loan from its London branch. PTI and Mint reported that the FIR described the rupee loan as a 12-month facility intended for solar park, wind energy and solar energy projects through project companies. They said the dollar loan was intended for onward lending to infrastructure special purpose vehicles or other uses permitted under Reserve Bank of India guidelines for external commercial borrowings.
The CBI alleges that the funds were diverted through associate companies. Separately, PTI and Mint reported that a Canara Bank forensic audit cited in the FIR found money had gone toward other purchases and activities, noted gaps in supporting records and questioned how some transactions were recorded.
The CBI said searches at premises in Mumbai, Delhi and Noida resulted in the seizure of bank records, deposit slips, mutual fund portfolio documents, directors’ bank account and property details, and company ledgers. The case includes allegations of criminal conspiracy and cheating, as well as offenses under the Prevention of Corruption Act. The Times of India reported that the investigation was continuing.
