CBI court sentences eight to rigorous imprisonment for fraud

A Special CBI court has sentenced the Managing Partner of Cochin-based Greenwood India firm and seven others to five to seven years' rigorous imprisonment for cheating Central government's public sector company SBI Global Factors Limited (SBIGFL) to the tune of Rs 4.91 crore in 2011, the agency said on Friday.

CBI special judge in Ernakulam sentenced M.R. Somaraj N. Nair, Managing Partner of Greenwood India, to undergo seven years' imprisonment with a fine of Rs 75 lakh. Anantha Narayanan Bhat, a partner in the same firm, was given six years' imprisonment with a fine of a similar amount. 

Besides them, businessmen K.N. Ramachandran has been sentenced to six years' imprisonment with a fine of Rs 40 lakh, Biju George to five years with a fine of Rs 40 lakh, Paul Anthony Adhav to six years with a fine of Rs 30 lakh, Ajay Baburao Kad to six years with a fine of Rs 3 lakh, Raja Chandrasekhar Khara to six years with a fine of Rs 2 lakh and Kailash Ankushbhai Wadkar to six years with a fine of Rs 2 lakh.

The CBI had registered the case following allegations that Greenwood India, through its partners Nair and Bhat, during May to September 2011 entered into a conspiracy with other the six businessmen to cheat SBIGFL, a public sector company of Central government. 

They are accused of fraudulently opening a current account of Greenwood India, maintained with Bank of Baroda, Ernakulam Main Branch, on July 8, 2010.

Nair and Bhat, the CBI said, intentionally induced SBIGFL and submitted forged documents and got sanctioned the Letter of Credit Bill Discounting (LCBD) facility for a limit of Rs 5 crore. 

Thereafter, the accused submitted forged Letter of Credit (LC) for Rs 49,l96,240 on August 30, 2011 purported to be issued by Union Bank of India's Narasanda Branch in Gujarat with other documents to discount the forged LC, the agency said.

"The accused cheated SBIGFL to the tune of Rs 4.91 crore. They adopted the strategy of diverting telephone line of UBI so that the SBIGFL could not detect the fraud committed by them. After investigation, a chargesheet was filed in the designated court. The trial court found the accused guilty and convicted them," the CBI said. IANS