Reebok's ex-MD, COO among five arrested for fraud

 Reebok India's sacked MD Subhinder Singh and former COO Vishnu Bhagat were on Thursday arrested along with three others for their alleged involvement in a Rs 870-crore fraud in the company.

Singh, Prem along with the three others -- Sanjay Mishra, Prashant Bhatnagar and Surakshit Bhatt-- have been arrested and will be produced tomorrow in court where "we will seek their custody", said Assistant Commissioner of Police Bhupinder Singh, who heads the special investigation team probing the case.

Subhinder Singh and Bhat were booked for fraud, criminal conspiracy and other charges under IPC for allegedly siphoning off the sportswear maker company's money by creating ghost distributors across the country and generating forged bills over the last five years.

When the alleged scam came to light in March 2012, Singh, who had been made the Managing Director of Adidas India last year as a part of an integration of the businesses of both Adidas and Reebok brands, was dismissed from the company. Bhat's services were terminated too.

The company's financial director, Shahim Padath, later lodged a formal complaint against the duo. The economic cell of Gurgaon police conducted a probe and found that Singh and Bhat had allegedly rented four warehouses without informing their seniors and used them to store goods and claimed they were supplied to genuine dealers.

They also allegedly siphoned off goods to ghost companies and distributors across the country, claiming they were defective pieces. On the complaint of Shahim, an FIR was lodged against them. Singh and Bhat have denied the charges. PTI CORR RT 09192157 NNNN