Delhi jeweller ‘robs’ Oriental of 390 cr

New Delhi: Close on the heels of a massive Rs 11,300 crore PNB scam, three fresh financial frauds have come to light, including the alleged involvement of a Delhi-based jeweller, who has been accused of defrauding the Oriental Bank of Commerce (OBC) to the tune of about Rs 390 crore through Letters of Credit (LoC).

Using the same modus operandi as the one used by celebrity jeweller Nirav Modi and his uncle Mehul Choksi to get LoC from PNB, the accused involved in the OBC fraud with the help of some bank officials.

The fresh exposure provided Congress president Rahul Gandhi an opportunity to attack Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying that like Vijay Mallya and Nirav Modi, these promoters have also disappeared while the government looked the other way. "Under Modiji's 'Jan-Dhan Loot Yojana', another scam! 390 crore, involving a Delhi-based jeweller. Same Modus operandi as Nirav Modi. Fake LoUs," wrote Gandhi in Twitter.

On Thursday, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) registered a case against Delhi's Karol Bagh-based diamond jewellery exporting firm Dwarka Das Seth International for an alleged bank loan fraud of Rs 389.85 crore involving the OBC.

The agency has also filed a case against businessman Amit Singla and others on a complaint of the Bank of Maharashtra (BoM) of criminal misappropriation of a loan he had taken through forged documents.

The same day, the agency also filed a case against Inder Chand Chundawat, the then Senior Branch Manager in the PNB Barmer office in Rajasthan, for alleged abuse of his official position by depositing various government subsidies to the tune of Rs 1.57 crore in a fictitious account. The official was suspended following an internal inquiry.

Last week, the banking sector was rocked by major financial frauds -- involving Rs 11,300 crore by diamantaire Nirav Modi and Rs 3,695 crore by Rotomac owner Vikram Kothari -- surfaced in which the CBI has filed cases and made several arrests.

After the PNB and the Bank of Baroda, the OBC, BoM and Barmer office of the PNB rushed to the CBI with their complaints of fraud, leading to the agency filing three separate cases. The OBC has alleged that it was defrauded by Dwarka Das Seth International and its owner Sabhya Seth. The loans turned into non-performing assets (NPAs) way back in 2014, but the bank approached the agency on August 16 last year, after the company had folded up and Seth fled the country.

The CBI has started tracing India-based directors and partners of the company. The OBC complaint has alleged that Dwarka Das Seth International took loans by way of letters of credit and other such credit facilities for gold jewellery export/import between 2007 and 2012 but failed to pay back.

A probe by the bank found that the company had indulged in round-tripping of funds through fictitious companies abroad and had utilised funds by discounting bills based on the letters of credit of foreign banks, which were either non-existent or had negative ratings.

Similarly, BoM has approached the CBI to lodge a loan default complaint against a Delhi businessman Amit Singla. The loan had turned into an NPA in 2013 and the bank has even sold a property kept as collateral to recover its dues, sources said.

The BoM's FIR names Singla, the proprietor of Delhi-based Ashirwad Chain Co, loan guarantor Roshan Lal Bhalotia, property valuation firm Tech Mach International and unknown officials of the bank.