Ghaziabad CBI Court Frames Charges in Multi-Crore Bank Fraud Case
A special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court in Ghaziabad has formally framed charges against a businessman in a significant bank fraud case involving over Rs 52 lakh. The court action targets Ajay Lohiya, proprietor of Mudit Agencies, for his alleged role in a conspiracy to defraud the Kaushambi branch of Union Bank of India.
Details of the Fraud and Charges
On Friday, Special CBI Judge Anand Prakash Singh charged Lohiya under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988. The court rejected his discharge petition, citing adequate preliminary evidence from the CBI to proceed with the case related to embezzlement activities in 2022.
The fraud originates from a 2016 loan sanction. Shivansh Agarwal, director of Shri Shantinath Impex, applied for a cash credit (CC) limit loan of Rs 20 crore from Union Bank of India's Mid-Corporate Branch in Kaushambi. The application, submitted on September 6, 2016, proposed collateral in the form of a commercial property in Sahibabad's Prakash Industrial Estate, valued at approximately Rs 24 crore.
Investigation revealed that after the loan was sanctioned, the funds were embezzled through a criminal conspiracy. Lohiya, along with co-accused including Shivansh Agarwal, Sharad Gupta, Mukesh Mittal, Anil Singhal, and Ravi Kumar Garg, allegedly misused the loan amount. Specifically, Rs 52,65,117 was transferred from Shri Shantinath Impex's account to Mudit Agencies on September 30, 2016.
Court Findings and Legal Proceedings
The court noted that Lohiya, as the sole owner and authorized signatory of Mudit Agencies' bank account at Punjab National Bank, played an active role in the embezzlement. On the same day as the transfer, he issued two cheques for Rs 25,07,506 and Rs 27,57,530 via RTGS to Shivashish Polytubes, where Agarwal was director, without any genuine business transaction.
In its order, the court stated, "In pursuance of this criminal conspiracy, you received Rs 52,65,117... and transferred the said amount... without transacting any business. You played an active role in the embezzlement and layering of the said amount." The charges include offences under Section 120-B (criminal conspiracy) read with Sections 420 (cheating), 468 (forgery for cheating), and 471 (using forged document) of the IPC, along with Section 13(2) read with 13(1)(d) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.
The case was registered based on a complaint filed by Pawan Kumar Gaur, regional head of Union Bank of India in Meerut, on March 8, 2019. The complaint targeted Agarwal, Amit Agarwal, Shri Shantinath Impex, and others for criminal conspiracy, cheating, and forgery. Investigations further indicated no evidence of genuine business activities by Shri Shantinath Impex Pvt Ltd, reinforcing the fraud allegations.
This development underscores ongoing efforts by authorities to tackle financial crimes and corruption in the banking sector, with the court emphasizing the seriousness of the charges as the legal process moves forward.
