Kotharis had direct control over firms they exported to, says CBI

LUCKNOW: The CBI investigating the alleged bank fraud by pen-maker Rotomac has found that owners of Kanpur-based company had their own family members or friends working in foreign import and export firms for which it took Rs3,000 crore packing credit (PC) and loan credit (LC) from nationalised banks.
"Investigation has brought out that exporters and importers located in Singapore and Dubai namely Magnum Multitrade Dubai, Pacific Universal General Trading, Dubai and Pacific Global Resources Singapore and Triumph International Dubai were companies operated by employees or ex-employees or people known to Rotomac Group which ultimately aided and abetted the perpetration of fraud," the CBI has mentioned in its chargesheet.
These firms were directly under the control of Rotomac and its directors Vikram Kothari, Sadhna Kothari and Rahul Kothari, the CBI has said.
The agency has detected that the instructions for fund remittances, expenses, management remuneration to these foreign companies were given through email sent from Kothari's representatives in Kanpur, including Ritesh Kothari, Jitendra Awasthi, Rajesh Vyas and Premal Praful Kamdar.
The goods shown in these export and import transactions ranged from computer parts, gems, wheat and iron ore. The CBI has also found that the consortium of banks had barred four firms including one Bunge Group of Companies, Cargil International, Rochester Trade and Dubai exchange from being given any letter of credit on behalf of Rotomac.
The chargesheet was submitted before a Lucknow bench of Allahabad high court last week.
TOI on Friday had disclosed that CBI found that Rotomac used loan money to import diamonds worth Rs 5.35 crore from a Dubai firm, which was a violation of bank loan conditions.