Chandigarh: CBI files FIR against Royale Empire for causing loss of Rs 1,624.88 lakh

Chandigarh: After receiving complaint by the Indian Overseas Bank (IOB), CBI has booked real estate firm owners of M/s Royale Empire and M/s Garg Contractors, Jeewan Garg, his wife Asha Garg and their two sons Prince Garg and Rajan Garg along with two other contractors for causing the bank a loss of Rs 1,624.88 lakh. The CBI has also charged them with charges of forgery and criminal conspiracy.

Anil Kumar Loothra, regional manager of IOB has filed the complaint and a Fir has been registered by the Economic Offences Unit (EOU) of CBI, Delhi, recently.

While the other two persons arrested were identified as S C Chawla, Panchkula’s Sector 21 resident and V D Kaushal, a resident from Punjab’s Mandi Gobindgarh.

Sources in CBI said, “Chawla and Kaushal were on the valuers’ panel of Indian Overseas Bank. They had given a high value of the mortgaged properties of the accused, against which crores of loan was obtained by Gargs in 2011 and 2012 but when the actual value of mortgaged properties was ascertained at the time of sale in 2014, it was shown to be very low.”

Loothra in his complaint to CBI stated, “Jeewan Garg is into constructing flats under the name of Royal Apartments at Peer Muchhala, Zirakpur, and Prince Garg, owner of Garg Contractors, carries out construction activities. The two had applied for loans with the regional branch of IOC in Chandigarh during different months of 2011.”

According to the sources, the properties secured by the CBI are valued as 500.55 lakhs for the residential house of Jeewan Garg located at 909 in Sector 9, Panchkula, the second residential property situated in Sector 26, Panchkula values 300 lakhs. Open land at Mubarakpur village in Mohali was valued at 290 lakh and other under construction flats under the banner of Royale Empire belonging to Jeewan Garg and Prince Garg was valued at Rs 1,850 lakh. All the above prices were valued at the fair market value (FMV) by Chawla.

However, the bank officials has valued the cost of these mortgaged properties as Rs 295 lakh for the Sector 9 property, Rs 150 lakh for the Sector 26 property, open land at Mubarakpur village was valued at Rs 130 lakh stated the FIR.

It was also learned from the CBI sources that the bank had left out the flats under construction since the accused has already sold them to multiple buyers who have also filed cases against the builder said the Indian Express.