NE NEWS SERVICE
AHMEDABAD, SEPT 11
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has registered an FIR against Vadodara-based Mayfair Leisures Ltd and its directors for allegedly cheating the Bank of India to the tune of Rs 54.19 crore.
The firm was floated in 2011 by the Bhatnagar family which controls Diamond Power Infrastructure Ltd (DPIL), said the First Information Report lodged with CBI’s Gandhinagar office on Thursday.
The nationalized bank, in its complaint to the CBI, has accused the firm and its directors of “criminal conspiracy, criminal breach of trust and forgery for the purpose of cheating”, among other things.
In 2018, the CBI had registered a case against DPIL promoters for allegedly duping a consortium of 11 banks and defaulting on a loan of Rs 2,600 crore. In 2019, DPIL promoters Amit Bhatnagar, Sumit Bhatnagar, and their father Suresh Bhatnagar were arrested by the CBI.
Now, the Bank of India has accused Mayfair Leisures of diverting a loan sanctioned for constructing a five-star hotel.
The accused named in the FIR include Madhurilata Suresh Bhatnagar, Mona A Bhatnagar, Richa A Bhatnagar, and Namo Narain Bhatnagar.
BoI had sanctioned a term loan of Rs 63 crore in 2012 against a total project cost of Rs 112.93 crore to the company for building a five-star hotel in Vadodara.
The company’s directors in connivance with “unknown public servants of BoI” diverted the funds to group companies and its directors instead of using them for constructing the hotel, causing the bank a loss of Rs 54.19 crore which is yet to be recovered, said the FIR.
