Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, Mar 26: In Rs 270 crore J&K Bank loan fraud case, Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) today produced charge sheet against two officials of the bank and Managing Director of the defaulting firm, Aman Hospitality Private Ltd.
Charge sheet in case FIR No. 15/2019, dated 24.07.2019 of PS ACB Srinagar, was presented against Raj Singh Gehlot, Managing Director, Aman Hospitality Private Ltd; Rakesh Kumar Kharyal and Kuldeep Gupta, then Managers of J&K Bank Ansal Plaza Branch, New Delhi and others.
The charge sheet was filed in the court of R N Wattal, Special Judge Anti- Corruption Srinagar by Inspector Kamal Sangra, Investigating Officer of the case.
Sources told the Excelsior that many supplementary charge sheet are likely to be filed as ACB is probing the role of top officers in the matter as it was practically not possible that the accused committed the multi-crore bank fraud merely on the basis of conspiracy with lower officials.
Pertinent to mention that there is resentment in J&K Bank that those who take the decisions and drive benefit of it are never caught whereas poor managers and clerks are arrayed as accused in such frauds.
FIR in this case was registered on the basis of a source information which was the outcome of a verification conducted into the allegations of financial irregularities in the loans availed by M/s Aman Hospitality Pvt Ltd, New Delhi from the Ansal Plaza Branch of the J&K Bank New Delhi.
It was alleged that the officers of J&K Bank Ansal Plaza Branch had given loan worth crores of rupees to this firm and in connivance with the said firm, the loan amounts so sanctioned were declared as NPA to facilitate the firm to have a One Time Settlement to its advantage.
The firm had apparently availed loans for the construction of a five star hotel in Delhi with a project cost estimated Rs 866.89 crores to the tune of Rs 227 crores as Term Loan alongwith Bank guarantee of Rs 15 crores. The rest of the loans were availed from other banks by the firm as part of consortium loan for construction of the five star hotel. The firm had pledged mortgaged land, including the building of five star hotel and rentals which would accrue on the commercial area which was proposed to be leased out, hypothecation of all other current assets and personal guarantee of Raj Singh Gehlot who was the Managing Director of M/s AHPL worth Rs 41 crores favouring a consortium of banks including J&K Bank as the lead bank as part of mortgaged properties.
However, while looking into the allegations mentioned in the FIR, investigation revealed that instead of using the loans sanctioned for the purpose of construction of hotel, it was diverted / siphoned out for various other purposes and misappropriated by the borrower Raj Singh Gehlot. Investigation has established that out of the Rs 100 crores sanctioned as Term Loan in the first phase to M/s AHPL, an amount of Rs 35 crores has been diverted by Raj Singh Gehlot in connivance with the Bank officials and other co-accused and through fictitious firms which were created for the said purpose and also by layering the funds through other banks in a complex maze of transactions.
In this manner, they cheated the J&K Bank Ansal Plaza Branch to the tune of Rs 35 crores. Further investigation into the remaining diversions is in progress apart from the allegations of illegally entering into an OTS to the firm advantage by J&K Bank officials.
The charge sheet has been filed by the Anti Corruption Bureau, under Section 120-B, 409, 420 RPC and Section 5(1)(c), 5(1) (d) read with 5(2) of the JK Prevention of Corruption Act against the private persons, namely Raj Singh Gehlot, MD of M/s AHPL co-accused Mohan Singh, Sheela Gehlot, Madhu Bakshi and public servants Rakesh Kumar Kharyal and Kuldeep Gupta who were the erstwhile Managers of J&K Bank Ansal Plaza Branch, New Delhi and the firms M/s Ambience Limited, NGR Consultant Pvt Ltd. and Raj Commercial & Agencies. Further investigation in the case is in progress.
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