Rotomac bank fraud: I-T attaches assets in Kanpur, Ahmedabad

The Income Tax Department today said it has attached four immovable assets of the Rotomac group and its promoters in connection with an alleged tax evasion probe against them.
They said the properties, three in Kanpur and one in Ahmedabad, were provisionally attached yesterday.
The department, earlier this week, had attached 14 bank accounts that were in various bank branches in Uttar Pradesh.
These attachment of assets, they said, has been carried out to "recover outstanding tax demands" from the group, understood to be about Rs 85 crore.
The Kanpur-based group is being probed by the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with an alleged bank loan fraud of Rs 3,695 crore, given by a consortium of seven banks.

The CBI had registered a criminal case against Rotomac Global Pvt Limited, its director Vikram Kothari, his wife Sadhana Kothari and son Rahul Kothari and unidentified bank officials on a complaint received from Bank of Baroda and conducted raids against them yesterday.

It was alleged in the complaint from Bank of Baroda that conspirators cheated a consortium of bank loans to the tune of Rs 3,695 crore, including the interest component, CBI officials said. The principal amount involved was Rs 2,919 crore.
The ED subsequently registered a money laundering case against them.
The ED will probe if the allegedly defrauded bank funds were laundered and these proceeds of crime subsequently used by the accused to create illegal assets and black money.

This is the second major financial scam to break out after the sensational Rs 11,400 crore fraud allegedly committed by billionaire jewellery designer Nirav Modi and his uncle Mehul Choksi, who is a promoter of Gitanjali group of companies.
Both left the country before the Punjab National Bank realised the seriousness of the alleged crime.