Again in limelight

18/08/2019

Corruption, embezzlement, fraud, these are all characteristics which exist everywhere. It is regrettably the way human nature functions, whether we like it or not. What successful economies do is keep it to a minimum. Jammu and Kashmir Bank is in limelight again but not for any good reason. The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) has registered a fresh case in the loan fraud worth over Rs 350 crore in Jammu and Kashmir Bank and conducted searches at different places in Bengaluru. This is the third case registered by the ACB in the case in the past 10 days. On August 7, two cases were registered in loan frauds worth about Rs 600 crore in the bank involving a different beneficiary, a Delhi-based businessman. During investigations, the team of ACB obtained search warrants from the Anti-Corruption Court in Srinagar which was endorsed by the court concerned in North Bengaluru and, thereafter, conducted extensive searches at the residential premises and office of Rawther in assistance with local police, magistrate and independent witnesses. During the searches, various incriminating documents and electronic evidence were recovered and seized by the team.
During the course of verification, it came to fore that Rawther Spices…was dealing in import and export of spices and coffee. During year 2002, the company approached J&K Bank Branch Infantry Road Bengaluru for obtainment of loan and the bank initially sanctioned loan amount of Rs 2 crore against collalateral security of three properties valued at Rs 10 crore. In the subsequent years from 2012 onwards, he said the bank increased limits of different types of loans enormously which rose up to Rs 308.13 crore in 2015 against increased mortgage or security value to Rs 147.43 crore only. The then Branch Manager, Shamim Ahmed Haji of Sopore in North Kashmir, processed and facilitated approval by J&K Bank headquarters against collateral property highly disproportionate to the loan amount. During the same period, he said the firm also borrowed Rs 16.5 crore from HDFC Bank and Rs 25.00 crore from RBL Bank and provided mortgage to these two banks against the property already mortgaged to J&K Bank. Now it is a wait and situation for all that how many more skeletons open.

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