CBI Charges Hyderabad-Based Company In Over Rs 4,736 Crore Bank Fraud

The CBI has charged Hyderabad-based Coastal Projects Ltd and its directors in connection with over Rs 4,736 crore bank fraud in a consortium of banks led by the State Bank of India, officials said on Saturday.

The complaint from the SBI, now a part of the FIR, has alleged that the accused construction company, during the five year period between 2013 and 2018, falsified account books and financial statements to show unrealisable bank guarantee amounts as realisable investments, Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) spokesperson R C Joshi said.

The company also allegedly gave wrong information on promoters' contribution, converted receivables from related parties to investments to siphon off bank funds, he said.

The loan account of the company became a Non-Performance Asset with retrospective effect from October 28, 2013 and subsequently declared fraud on February 20 last year.

Besides the company and its Chairman and Managing Director Sabbineni Surendra, the agency has also named Managing Director Garapati Harihara Rao, Directors Sridhar Chandrasekharan Nivarthi, Sharad Kumar, Guarantor K Ramuli, K Anjamma, another company Ravi Kailas Builders Pvt Ltd, its directors Ramesh Pasupuletu and Govind Kumar Irani.

"Searches were conducted at the residential and official premises of the accused at Hyderabad and Vijayawada, which led to the recovery of several incriminating documents and other material evidence," Mr Joshi said.