Five former ICICI Bank officials face EOW Probe for allegedly cheating Mumbai hotelier

The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) department of the Mumbai Police has begun a probe into charges of alleged cheating by five former ICICI Bank officials in a case filed by a hotelier, The Economic Times has reported on November 19.

The case was registered on the basis of a complaint lodged on July 13, 2021 by Vishal Sharma, 48, director of Hotel Horizon Pvt Ltd, located at Juhu Tara Road.

Sharma alleged that the accused bankers, ARC and others caused the loss of Rs 120 crore to him since 2011, when he had first applied for a loan of Rs 351 crore. EOW officers had said Sharma tried to avail the loan by mortgaging properties worth Rs 1,200 crore.

As per the economic times report, one of the former bank officials, who is now employed by another institution, was recently summoned by the EOW to provide details of transactions.

"The senior executive was called in to explain certain banking procedures pertaining to sanctioning of loans, functioning of the credit committee and the process of roping in an ARC. The said executive joined the probe on Tuesday," a senior official with the Mumbai police told the daily.

The EOW has maintained that the executive is not being treated as an accused and was summoned only to explain the banking procedures, however, the FIR registered by the complainant Sharma with the BKC police station alleges fraud.

Sharma had alleged in the complaint that the accused bankers informed him that his loan was sanctioned, and that the amount would be disbursed in phases. He was informed of getting of Rs 25 crore in the first phase, but the bank deducted Rs 15.5 crore from the loan amount as processing fees and Sharma only received Rs 9.5 crore.

In June 2016, Sharma alleged that he was coaxed by the bank officials to pay Rs 47.37 crore.

"In the event this amount isn't paid then the processing fee amount and interest won't be returned." the FIR accessed by the daily reads.

Later, in September 2016, the loan was sold to an ARC.

"The accused bank officials doctored minutes of the credit meetings, issued false statements and subsequently sold the loan to an ARC without my knowledge. While my liability was of Rs 9.5 crore, the ARC in connivance with the bank officials staked a claim of Rs 120 crore from my mortgaged assets which is worth over Rs 1200 crore," Sharma told the daily.

Earlier, SBI ex-chairman Pratip Chaudhuri was also arrested on November 1 in connection with an alleged loan scam related to the sale of a hotel belonging to the Godawan Group in Jaisalmer -- which is a non-performing asset (NPA) -- to Alchemist ARC.

Chaudhuri was arrested following a petition filed by former directors of the hotel property with the Chief Judicial Magistrate - Jaisalmer. The director accused him of facilitating the sale of the Rs 200-crore property at a throw-away price of Rs 25 crore to Alchemist ARC, after the SBI had seized the hotel following a default on loan. A Jaisalmer court then on November 9 granted him bail.