Bank Fraud: Chowdary Stopped At Delhi Airport

Immigration officials prevented BJP MP Sujana Chowdary from flying to America, following look out notices issued on his name in connection with bank fraud case. The MP filed a petition in the Telangana High Court stating that he was illegally prevented from flying to the foreign country.

In the past, the Enforcement Directorate had conducted raids on business organisations owned by BJP Rajya Sabha member. It also alleged that Sujana Group of Companies had cheated banks of Rs 5,700 crore and that there are clear evidences to prove that the companies had failed to repay the loans taken from banks.

The ED officials seized six costly cars registered in the name of shell companies floated by Chowdary. They also said that a majority of the companies in the MP’s ownership were just limited to papers and that they did not exist in reality.

The officials probing the case said that banks lent Rs 5,700 crore to Sujana on personal surety. In fact, in connection with a case registered in Chennai, ED officials conducted raids on Sujana’s companies in October 2018.

As part of investigation into the same case, the Chennai ED officials reached Hyderabad and conducted raids on Best and Crompton in Nagarjuna Hills.

The ED officials said that they have launched simultaneous searches in seven different areas in Hyderabad and Delhi too.

They said that FEMA, DRI and CBI cases were registered against Sujana companies. They also said that business operations were being held in the name of 120 companies but that a majority of them were not existing in reality.

Three FIRs

Three FIRs were also registered under the CBI, Bengaluru area, following complaints from bankers for cheating banks of Rs 364 crore.

The CBI in its FIR said that the Best and Crompton company took loans to the tune of Rs 133 crore from Central Bank of India, Rs 71 crore from Andhra Bank, Rs 159 crore from Corporation Bank, by submitting fake documents in Chennai.

Following this FIR, the ED began investigation under the PMLA Act. As part of it, on October 8, 2018, searches were held in the houses and offices of some prominent persons in Chennai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad. The ED officials also seized rubber stamps of 126 shell companies from Chowdary’s Nagarjuna Hills office in Hyderabad.

The investigating officials found that many companies of the Sujana Group were established on the premises of the office in Nagarjuna Hills. They found that the Sujana Group of companies were functioning under the chairmanship of the MP.