CRB group collapse update
Information with the Mumbai police has revealed that C R Bhansali, the absconding chief of CRB Capital Markets, had floated over 100 companies across the country. Most of these companies were registered within a couple of days.
This was disclosed by Gopinath Munde, deputy chief minister of Maharashtra, at a press meet in Mumbai yesterday. Sources feel that these companies could have been used as channels to siphon off money from CRB Capital Markets.
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Munde expressed his suspicion that officials from the Registrar of Companies (RoC) as well as from some other companies, had connived with the CRB group which made it possible for Bhansali to registrar these companies in such a short time.
Most of these companies had been set up shortly before the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) tightened the capitalisation norms for non-banking finance companies (NBFCs), he disclosed.
Earlier in the day, Munde had met officials from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), Registrar of Companies (RoC), Industrial Development Bank of India (IDBI), National Stock Exchange (NSE), and Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).
He said Sebi officials had been examining CRB groups audited balance sheets which did not reflect the frauds committed. He said Maharashtra police would deal with complaints of common investors, the CBI would look into banking fraud, and RBI would deal with liquidation of groups companies.
Munde told reporters that he would approach finance minister P Chidambaram to discuss ways and means to protect the interest of small institutional investors. As of now, the fate of these unsecured deposits of the small investors in CRB hangs in the balance. The official liquidator appointed by RBI is in the process of assessing the assets of the company. Only once assets and liabilities are assessed and matched will the court make a decision with respect to the extent to which the retail investors will get back their money.
Further, Munde said he would ask the finance minister to initiate an investigation into the registration of such a large number of companies by one group in a short period.
Munde said that the police had identified properties of CRB in Mumbai and would seal them.
Meanwhile, RBI will accept CRB depositors claims at the following address: Reserve Bank of India, Department of Supervision, Central Office, Centre 1, 2nd floor, World Trade Centrel, P B No-19,948, Cuffe Parade, Mumbai 400 005.