CBI files FIR against Kanishk Gold for duping SBI, 13 other banks of Rs 824 Cr

Agencies
March 22, 2018

New Delhi, Mar 22: The CBI has registered a case of alleged loan fraud of Rs 824.15 crore committed by Chennai-based Kanishk Gold Pvt Ltd on a consortium of 14 banks led by the State Bank of India and carried out searches on Wednesday, officials said.

The case has been registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on a complaint from the SBI on behalf of the 14-bank consortium, they said.

The CBI carried out searches at the official and residential premises of promoters of Kanishk Gold Pvt Ltd as it launched probe in the Rs 824-crore loan fraud case, the officials said.

The company engaged in manufacturing gold jewellery which was marketed under the brand name ‘Krizz’. It sold through distributors till 2014 but changed business model to B2B (business-to-business) in 2015 supplying to large retail jewellers, the SBI said in the complaint to the CBI.

The loan accounts of the company were taken over by the SBI from the ICICI in 2008. Its banking arrangement was converted into a multiple banking arrangement in March 2011, it said.

The SBI alleged that while the “fraud” is to the tune of Rs 824.15 crore, the security available with the it to cover the “loss” is only around Rs 156.65 crore.

The CBI officials said they have received the complaint and were in touch with the bank because of certain loopholes in the complaint which were to be rectified by the bank.

The bank has alleged that the company had “misrepresented and falsified” the records and financial statements of the company to show a “rosy picture” since 2009 to avail credit facilities from it.

Kanishk Gold Pvt Ltd and its directors allegedly diverted the funds detrimental to the rights and interests of the bank, it said.

The SBI has requested the agency to register a case against Kanishk Gold Pvt Ltd, its promoter director Bhoopesh Kumar Jain and others.

The company’s account was declared fraud and non-performing asset (NPA) in 2017-18 by various lending banks, it alleged.

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News Network
March 19,2020

Mar 19: Amidst spiralling cases of COVID-19 in the country, Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Ashwini Kumar Choubey on Thursday advocated "absorbing sunlight" as a possible precaution against coronavirus that has claimed over 8,000 lives globally.

Speaking to reporters outside parliament, Choubey said 10-15 minutes in the sun would build immunity as sunlight provides Vitamin D.

"From 11 am to 2 pm the sun is shining brightly. We should spend at least 10-15 minutes to absorb sunlight so that we get vitamin D which improves the immunity of our body and also kills such viruses. All should be aware of (this fact)," he said when asked about the spread of coronavirus.

COVID-19 cases in India climbed to 169 on Thursday after 18 fresh cases were reported from various parts of the country, according to the Union health ministry.

The cases include 25 foreign nationals -- 17 from Italy, 3 from the Philippines, two from the UK, one each belonging to Canada, Indonesia and Singapore.

The figure also includes three deaths reported from Delhi, Karnataka and Maharashtra so far.

According to the World Health Organisation, the novel coronavirus has killed over 8,000 people globally and infected more than two lakh.

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News Network
January 21,2020

Jan 21: Indian policymakers may make it easier for companies to tap foreign funding, as a prolonged cash squeeze makes it tough for firms to borrow at home.

Investors are speculating about potential steps Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman could unveil when she presents the nation’s budget on Feb. 1. These measures may include freeing up firms to borrow at higher rates and offering tax breaks to global funds.

“The government will need to relax local rules to make it easier for Indian companies to raise debt overseas and tide over the funding crunch in the onshore market,” said Raj Kothari, London-based head of trading at Jay Capital Ltd. “At the same time, they need to ensure that the borrowers tapping offshore markets abide with stricter corporate governance so as to avoid further defaults.”

A prolonged crisis in India’s shadow bank sector and a pile of bad loans at traditional lenders is making it expensive for Indian companies, other than the best-rated firms, to access funding. The government has tried a series of measures to spur domestic credit, including providing so-called credit enhancement and allowing tiny firms to restructure debt.

Here are some steps Sitharaman may consider to spur foreign borrowing:

• She could raise the cap of 450 basis points above Libor, which limits overall foreign debt costs for Indian companies

• This could help lower-rated firms sell bonds abroad. Indian companies rated BBB currently borrow at more than 10%, about 3.8 percentage points more than their top-rated peers;

• Sitharaman could waive the withholding tax foreign investors need to pay on holdings of rupee-denominated debt sold by Indian companies abroad

• The waiver was offered between September 2018 to March 2019, but wasn’t extended as the highest global interest rates since the financial crisis deterred Indian borrowers. Since then, the three-month Libor has dropped by about 1 percentage point

• She could permit Indian property developers and housing finance lenders to sell overseas bonds for reasons beyond affordable housing projects

• New funding lines to the real estate sector, arguably ground zero of India’s economic slowdown, could help kickstart consumption and investment as the industry is the nation’s biggest job-creator.

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Agencies
July 30,2020

Kochi, Jul 30: The Kerala High Court on Thursday refused to grant the extension for the stay of a 74-year-old US citizen, Johnny Paul Pierce, who had earlier said that he felt safer to remain in India than in the United States amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The single-judge bench of Justice CS Dias, which considered the writ petition, observed that the grant or extension of visa to foreign nationals fall exclusively within the domain of the Government of India (GoI) and that judicial review in such matters is minimal.

The power of the GoI to expel foreigners is absolute and unlimited, the bench said.

"In view of the categoric declaration of law by the Supreme Court, the plea of the petitioner to permit him to stay back in India cannot be accepted, as it falls within the purview of the guidelines and the discretion of the Government of India," the order said.

"The petitioner cannot be heard that the guidelines/policies/regulations formulated by the Government of India, that an American national though has been granted a visa having validity of five years has to leave India within 180 days, is irrational or unreasonable," it added.

The High Court, which was hearing a plea to permit the US citizen to stay in India for a further period of six months, said that the petitioner does not have a case that there is an infraction of Article 21 of the Constitution of India.

"The petitioner was well aware of the visa conditions when he arrived in India, and it is too late in the day for him to raise a grievance on the visa conditions," the bench said noting that the petitioner's love for India was heartening.

The High Court also directed the Foreigners Registration Officer to consider the petitioner's representation within a period of two weeks in accordance with the applicable guidelines and policies.

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