Bank loan fraud: ED arrests MD of Chennai firm

This in connection with money laundering probe in an alleged bank loan fraud case of about Rs 500 cr

ED today arrested a Managing Director of a Chennai-based firm in connection with its money laundering probe in an alleged bank loan fraud case of about Rs 500 crore.

Officials said ED sleuths arrested one Farouk Irani, MD of Ms First Leasing Company of India Limited (FICIL), under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

The Enforcement Directorate had registered a criminal case, based on a last year CBI FIR, which had booked Irani and his firm for allegedly cheating the IDBI Bank to the tune of Rs 274 crore and SBI to the tune of about Rs 248 crore few years back.
 

Both the banks had filed a complaint in this regard with the CBI.

Officials claimed Irani, a "key person" in the working of the company, was arrested as he was not cooperating in the probe.

"The estimated proceeds of crime, enjoyed, used, dealt with and diverted for personal and family benefits by Irani, the erstwhile Managing Director of FLCIL, alone works out to about Rs 100 crore," the agency said in a statement.

FLCIL, they said, is a listed company registered under the Companies Act and is a Non-Banking Financial company registered with the RBI.

"During the course of investigations, searches were conducted at different residential premises, which resulted in recovery of fixed deposits of about Rs 51 crore in his name and in the names of Irani's family members and Irani family maintenance trust," it said.

ED is probing multiple cases of bank frauds across the country at present with the most prominent being the Kingfisher Airlines-IDBI alleged bank loan defraud case involving the owner of the now defunct airline and liquor baron Vijay Mallya.