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The Directorate of Enforcement, Chennai Zone, has attached 37 immovable properties worth about ₹328 crore of city-based Nathella Sampath Jewellery Pvt Ltd, its promoters, directors and others under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002, in a case related to bank loan fraud, said a release from the directorate.
CBI registers FIR
An investigation was carried out against the 70-year-old jeweller based on an FIR registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation, Bank Fraud and Security Cell, Bengaluru, in April.
The FIR was registered based on a complaint by State Bank of India, which alleged that the promoters of Nathella Sampath had unduly enjoyed bank borrowings by way of cash credit facilities to the tune of several crores from a consortium of banks led by SBI since 2009.
It was also alleged that the promoters misrepresented and were falsifying account books and financial statements to avail credit facilities from lenders with a clear ‘criminal and mala fide ’ intent to cheat and defraud the lenders. The promoters caused wrongful loss of about ₹380 crore as on February 1, 2018, to the consortium of banks and a corresponding gain for themselves, the release said.
During the investigation, it was also noticed that stocks reported to banks were at about ₹495 crore as on March 31, 2017.
However, as per the forensic audit, the actual stocks could only be about ₹31 crore. Similarly, sales reported for 2016-17 were ₹1,517 crore, while it was actually about ₹157 crore.
The company’s purchase was reported to be ₹1,591 crore against the actual figure of ₹61 crore. The loans were obtained fraudulently with falsified statements, the release said.
The investigation led to the identification of 12 immovable properties worth ₹113 crore that the promoters derived from the crime proceeds, and another 25 valued at ₹215 crore.
For Nathella Sampath, the trouble started in October last year when some of its customers alleged that the company had defrauded their deposits made in monthly instalments for purchase of gold jewels.
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