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The Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) has slapped charges of corporate fraud, forgery, cheating and conspiracy on Karnataka State BJP Minister, Mr CP Yogeshwar.
Mr Yogeshwar is the Managing Director of Bangalore-based Megacity Developers and Builders Ltd that was found to have indulged in a host of misdeeds, an SFIO official told Business Line .
Mr Yogeshwar and other directors have been charged under Indian Penal Code 405, 120A and 420 among others as well as for violation of provisions under the Companies Act.
The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) had charged the company in March last year for forgery and conspiracy.
In June 2006, a non-bailable warrant had been issued against Mr Yogeshwar by the Third Additional Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum for conning people of crores by falsely promising them plots of land.
Mr Yogeshwar was held guilty of forging 450 sales deeds of Vajragiri Township Project and cheating people of Rs 37 crore. He was also charged with siphoning off Rs 3.6 crore from the company's accounts.
The company had stopped filing its annual returns, profit/loss account and balance sheet since 2006-07. The books of accounts were found to be falsified and Mr Yogeshwar was found to be holding three Directors' Identification Numbers (DIN) under various names.
The other charges included non-cooperation with the investigating agencies and not holding the Annual General Meeting in 2006.
“We will now wait for their response and then ask the SFIO for its comments. There is a process and it will be followed,” said an official of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, which oversees the SFIO.
The charges under SFIO are compoundable and fines can be levied on the company if they are proved, the official added. A case is going on in the trial court based on the CID's charge sheet which may lead to imprisonment.
At the worst, Mr Yogeshwar may lose his Ministership.
The film-producer-director-actor from Chennapatna entered politics on a Congress ticket from Bangalore Rural district and later switched over to the BJP. He was inducted into the Sadanand Gowda Cabinet in August this year as State Forest Minister.
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