CBI files chargesheet against Fedders Electric over Rs 1 028 cr loss to banks

New Delhi, Nov 12 (PTI) The CBI has filed a chargesheet against former executives of Fedders Electric and Engineering and a few others allegedly for criminal conspiracy and cheating, causing loss to the tune of Rs 1,028 crore to a consortium of banks led by State Bank of India.
     The central probe agency filed a chargesheet under sections of Indian Penal Code, among others, against former CFO Akhter Aziz Siddiqui, former Director Sham Sundar Gaur, Bharat Punj, Brijesh Chand Mathur, Manoj Kumar, Saurabh Kithania and Prateek Kithania.    
     The agency could not get sanction to probe SBI's then deputy general manager from the competent authority.
     The agency told the court that it could not probe the involvement of SBI officials because the bank did not accord it mandatory permission under Section 17-A of the Prevention of Corruption Act hence it only filed charge sheet against private persons under relevant sections of Indian Penal Code.
    "In the considered opinion of this court, even though, the permission to investigate offences under PC Act was declined by competent authority, however, there was no
bar or embargo upon the Investigation Officer from investigating offences under IPC, against the bank officials/public servants," a special court remarked.
     The court recommended the transfer of the case to a regular court because provisions of Prevention of Corruption were not invoked in the chargesheet.
     The special court left the aspect of probing bank official under IPC section to the competent court which would hear the matter in future.
     The central agency has alleged that the accused committed offences of cheating, criminal conspiracy, criminal breach of trust, criminal misconduct and forgery for diversion and misappropriation of bank's finance for wrongful gain from April 01, 2012 to March 31, 2018, causing loss of Rs 1,028.94 crore to the consortium of banks.
     The consortium also included Standard Chartered Bank, Karnataka Bank, Punjab National Bank and ICICI Bank.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)