Hyderabad: The CBI has arrested a resort owner from Hyderabad on a complaint by the Indian Overseas Bank, alleging bank fraud of over Rs 54 crore.
G S Chakravarthi Raju, the Chairman of Leo Meridian Infrastructure Projects and Hotels Limited, was arrested by the Bengaluru unit of the agency from Hyderabad yesterday.
Raju’s company runs Leonia resort in Hyderabad.
No official of the company was available for comment on Raju’s arrest.
The CBI has alleged that a term loan was sanctioned to Raju’s company under multiple banking agreements after which the Indian Overseas Bank joined as a consortium member led by the Bank of Baroda.
Raju was granted term loan to part finance the construction of 318-room hotel project in Bommraspet village in Andhra Pradesh.
The cost of the project was over Rs 485 crore with the Indian Overseas Bank’s portion in the loan being Rs 25 crore.
The accused had stopped construction work during March 2012, the FIR had alleged.
The account was classified as a Non Performing Asset on June 30, 2012, and the outstanding amount of the Indian Overseas Bank as on January 31, 2017, was Rs 54.50 crore.
The bank asked the CBI to register an FIR against the accused.
The Bengaluru unit of the Banking Security and Fraud Cell of the CBI, during its probe, found that the land that was mortgaged to the bank had already been divided into plots and sold, which was not revealed to the bank when the loan was being taken, officials alleged.
In its charge sheet, the CBI alleged that Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) granted permission for the construction of 13 floors but the company submitted forged permission letter and constructed 18 floors.
The agency has alleged that that the accused cheated and defrauded the bank to the tune of Rs 54.50 crore.
It also alleged that Raju, in a criminal conspiracy with his employees, created around 15 partnership firms and routed the term loan amount through these fictitious firms to his company account held at Axis bank.
–PTI