According to SBI's records, the Vindhyavasini Group and its subsidiaries have wilfully defaulted payments of about Rs.1,000 crore
Vijay Mallya, whose Kingfisher Airlines heads the State Bank of India's (SBI) list of wilful defaulters, is not the only one missing. Included in the SBI's top 100 defaulters are six companies, all belonging to the Vindhyavasini Group whose promoters are "non-traceable".
India's largest public sector bank's list of wilful defaulters, accessed by DNA, has thrown up the astonishing fact that the six companies are subsidiaries of one parent company. According to SBI's records, the Vindhyavasini Group and its subsidiaries have wilfully defaulted payments of about Rs.1,000 crore. The documents on fraudulent accounts also categorically state, "Family members of the directors having stake in the company or group as partner or beneficiaries, are not traceable".
Promoters Vijay R, Prasad Gupta and Ajay R. Prasad Gupta are brothers who were directors of the companies at the time of the loan being sanctioned. Since 2010, the Vindhyavasini Group companies have not filed any balance sheet, it is learnt. The companies accounts slipped to NPA (non-performing assets) in FY-2013. In 2014, some balance sheets were provided when the bank started legal action.
The six associate companies of the Vindhyavasini group are – Shreem Corporation, earlier known as Rajput Retail Ltd, Vindhyavasini Corporation Pvt Ltd, Vindhyavasini Ispat Industries, Vindhyavasini Steel Product Pvt Ltd, Vindhyavasini Steel Corporation Pvt Ltd, and Vindhyavasini Toll Infrastructure Pvt Ltd. Of the six, the group's retail venture Shreem Corporation Ltd has the maximum debt of Rs 283 crore.
To identify diversion of funds and money trail through six subsidiaries of the Vindhyavasini Group, the SBI appointed accountancy firm Deloitee Touche Yohmatsu India for a forensic audit, sources told DNA.
The Deloitee report indicated serious misdeeds and diversion of funds by promoters and directors. All the group companies, financed by SBI's eastern Express Highway Branch, Thane, have been declared fraud and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Mumbai, has filed an FIR. During investigation, three other companies of same group were traced as having taking loans from the Punjab National Bank.
All accounts of the companies appearing in the wilful defaulter list have been declared as fraud. In June 2016, the directors of the group companies were declared wilful defaulters.
The Debt Recovery Tribunal (DRT) in Mumbai had issued an order restraining the directors from leaving the country without the permission of the court. The order has been circulated to regional passport offices of Bhopal, Mumbai and immigration office at New Delhi and other international airports.
There was no response to an email sent to the group asking for its reaction.
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