Pharma firm face charges of cheating SBI of Rs 157 crore

CHANDIGARH: A Judicial Magistrate court in Chandigarh has framed charges against the directors and managers of Surya Pharmaceuticals Limited of allegedly committing a fraud against State Bank of India (SBI) of Rs 157 crore.

The charges of cheating, criminal conspiracy, and forgery have been framed against directors Rajiv Goyal, Alka Goyal and Suhel Goyal, chief financial officer Hari Om Bhatia, manager Mukta Seth, and director (operations) of Dubai-based Kobian Private Limited Pramod Aggarwal under the sections 120-B (criminal conspiracy), 420 (cheating), 467 (forgery of valuable security), 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating) and 471 (using as genuine a forged document or electronic record) of the IPC.

The trial in the case will begin on December 11.

TOI reports that the SBI's special commercial branch of Chandigarh had approached the CBI on May 22, 2014, alleging that the accused had duped the bank to the tune of Rs 157.96 crore. The accused, who also include "other private and public persons", have also been accused of "causing wrongful loss" to the public sector bank.

According to the complaint received by CBI, the said company had availed a working capital of worth Rs 1,100 crore in which SBI's share was Rs 405 crore. However, at the time of availing financial facilities, the accused allegedly cheated the bank by falsifying purchases and sales of the same products without addition of any processing value, wrongly showing purchases of pharmaceutical products from concerns dealing in information technology, telecommunication, electric and electronic products, which were not related to the business of Surya Pharmaceuticals. The fraud was committed from 2010 to 2012

FIR was registered after an investigative audit was carried out by SBI in October 2013 which revealed that the bank was cheated of Rs 157.96 crores. CBI had sought search warrants to recover documents and other evidence in the case.