Tamil Nadu: CBI books rice mill owners for cheating bank to tune of 10 cr

By Venkadesan S

Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has booked city-based rice mill owners and an office bearer on charges of cheating Canara Bank to the tune of 10 crore by availing the credit facilities through forged documents.

The anti-corruption branch of Chennai CBI team booked K S S Karunakaran and his wife, Revathi, residents of Nanganallur and owners of Sivaji Hi-teck Agro Foods in Medavakkam, and A S Satheesh Kumar, CFO of the firm, under IPC sections for cheating and the Prevention of Corruption Act, as unidentified bank officials were also included in the FIR.According to the FIR, Karunakaran availed a loan of 9.3 crore from Canara Bank’s Anna Salai limits to set up a new modern rice mill with a production capacity of six tonnes per hour on land measuring 3.06 acres at Ariyapadi Village, Arani Taluk, Tiruvannamalai Dist. However, they failed to repay the loan as per the terms, and the account was declared a non-performing asset twice in 2022 and 2023.

During internal enquiries, it was found that the supporting documents the firm produced to avail the loan, including the quotation for machinery and the bank statement of the initial payment to the machinery manufacturer, were forged with an intention to cheat the bank

This article has been republished from The Times of India