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CRIME: INDIAN BANK SCAM
Dutch Help Sought
The CBI's records
also point out that Raja had five front firms in Rotterdam, the port which
he used extensively to ship his cashew to destinations in Europe, Africa,
North America. The firms-Hamilton Ventures Pvt Ltd, Nutworld Trading,
Globenut, Richardson & Rogers Ltd, and Dutch Flag Ltd-received payments
from Mountamount, but they were, say investigators, just a way of laundering
the wealth. The CBI has dispatched letter rogatories to the Dutch Government
to get details on the firms. "It's important for us to know the money
trail at the Dutch end," says CBI spokesman, S.M. Khan. The request
is still pending.
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SCAM COUNT
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MVR INDUSTRIES LTD
Case filed: 19 Nov, 1996
Amount: Rs 84.26 cr.
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ENKAY FOODS
PVT LTD
Case filed: 3 May, 1997
Amount: Rs 29.89 cr.
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MAXWELL EXIM LTD
Case filed: 19 Nov, 1996
Amount: Rs 147.65cr
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WELL STORES
Case filed: 12 Dec, 1996
Amount: Rs 6.48 cr
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ARUN BUILDERS LTD
Case filed: 24 Dec, 1996
Amount: Rs 2 cr.
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SANJEEVI PACKAGING
Case filed: 12 Dec, 1996
Amount: Rs 6.49 cr.
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RAMRAJ TRADING
Case filed: 15 Feb, 1996
Amount: Rs 6.49 cr
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INDICA BUILDERS
Case filed: 31 Dec, 1996
Amount: Rs 6.49 cr
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JAIMATHA FARMS
Case filed: 3 May, 1997
Amount: Rs 2.81 cr
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ABHINAV EXIM
Case filed: 31 Dec, 1996
Amount: Rs 6.49 cr
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ANDERSON INDUSTRIES
Case filed: 3 May, 1997
Amount: Rs 2.81 cr
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SATYAM
FOOD LTD
Case filed: 3 May, 1997
Amount: Rs 31.76 cr |
| Three more Singapore
firms and another Indian company are under investigation |
Raja, a 6-ft-tall graduate from Pachaiyappa College,
Chennai, started the MVR Group of companies after winding up his father's
textile business in 1962. His business involved importing raw cashew,
processing it in India and exporting the finished stuff. His big break
came in 1985, when he managed to get a substantial loan from the Indian
Bank. Few saw the irony at the time: only the previous year Raja had defaulted
on car loans taken from the same bank.
By sending Mountamount's shipping documents (invoice, packing list, bill
of lading) through Indian Bank, Singapore, to the Indian Bank accounts
of MVR group companies in India, and making payments on a collection basis-bypassing
the established, and RBI stipulated, letter of credit route, thanks largely
to the collusion of the bank brass-he continued to mint money. Later,
even when no shipments were due, shipping documents were sent for collection
of money. These payments were sanctioned by Gopalakrishnan. The money
collected in Singapore was then funnelled to the firms in Rotterdam.
Says Khan: "The arrest is a major gain
for us. Raja is a major player in the Indian Bank case involving the biggest
bank scam in the country." Raja's arrest has come at an opportune
moment for the CBI. Recently the Madras High Court ordered the setting
up of a special court to deal with the Indian Bank scam. With Raja in
detention, Indian authorities will renew their request to Singapore to
make available the details of his bank accounts. The CBI, on its part,
will have to establish that Raja was indeed the protagonist who planned
each move of his various front firms in which "sleeping directors"
were appointed.
It certainly appears that Raja's plans of retiring
in Paris may have been pushed back for quite a while.
—With Stephen David in Bangalore
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