INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
DPIL is accused of cheating various banks to the tune of Rs 2,654 crore
The Income Tax (I-T) department's ongoing searches at the premises of Vadodara-based
firm DPIL have revealed that its promoters obtained loans by showing a huge turnover through bogus intra-group transactions of Rs 550 crore,
Diamond Power Infrastructure Ltd (DPIL) is accused of cheating various banks to the tune of Rs 2,654 crore.The I-T department began
searching the premises of the firm and its promoters on April 10, which are still ongoing.While going through the accounts of DPIL and other
companies floated by its promoters, I-T officials discovered fraudulent transactions, where one company 's old' products to another company
in the same group, the IT department official said."As of now, we have unearthed such fraudulent transactions worth Rs 550 crore while going
through 2017-18 accounts alone
We are yet to check records of previous years.The promoters showed a high turnover through bogus transactions between their own companies,"
he said.DPIL, which manufactures electrical cables and equipment, is promoted by S N Bhatnagar and his sons Amit Bhatnagar and Sumit
Bhatnagar."Out of the total turnover of Rs 600 crore of two group companies in 2017-18, Rs 550 crore was through such bogus transactions,"
the official said.The IT department initiated the action following raids by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement
Directorate (ED) on the company offices and the promoters' residences.The official said though no seizure has been made yet, at least nine
bank lockers of the promoters have come to light.According to the CBI, DPIL fraudulently availed credit facilities from a consortium of 11
banks (both public and private) from 2008, leading to outstanding debt of Rs 2,654.40 crore as of June 29, 2016
It was declared a non-performing asset in 2016-17.The company allegedly submitted false stock statements to the lead bank by treating
'receivables more than 180 days' (non-current assets) as 'less than 180 days' (current assets) to get more drawing power in the cash credit
accounts.The CBI alleged that DPIL extensively utilised cash credit limits for obtaining a large number of letters of credit, and many of
them could not be honoured by the company and were thus "forced charged" on the credit limit.Among the consortium, Bank of India's
exposure to the company is Rs 670.51 crore, Bank of Baroda's exposure is Rs 348.99 crore and that of ICICI Bank is Rs 279.46 crore, the
CBI FIR said.(This story has not been edited by staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
