The Rotomac pen owner Vikram Kothari has come under questioning by the CBI. CBI has begun its investigation on owner Vikram Kothari and his son Rahul and their connection to loan default of rupees 3,695 crores.
Kothari was being questioned earlier in Kanpur where residence and his business were located. The questioning included his wife Sadhana, and his son Rahul as well. The three were all directors of Rotomac Global Pvt. Ltd. They were called by the CBI to New Delhi for the questioning, without reasons being given for their move. Searches were conducted both at their residence and the offices, the Delhi-based office was sealed thereafter.
They had allegedly diverted the loans to uses that they weren’t originally meant for. They hoodwinked seven national banks, out of which Bank of Baroda had approached the CBI. The bank then went on to file an FIR against Kothari. They added that they were afraid he might even leave the country. The case was registered against Kothari on February 18th. The charges include cheating, fraud and corruption.
Originally the scam was supposed to be about 800 crore rupees. But following the CBI’s probe into the matter, the accounts of Rotomac Global Pvt. Ltd. revealed that it had taken loans from multiple banks, the Bank of India, Bank of Maharashtra, Indian Overseas Bank, the Union Bank of India, the Allahabad bank and the Oriental Bank of Commerce. The loans to these banks amounted 2,919 crores. Totally it was found that the company owed the banks 3,695 crore rupees including interest.
On 20th February the ED issued a lookout circular against the accused, which would prevent them from leaving the country. Registering the money laundering case, they conducted searches in UP. The Income-tax department has found 14 bank accounts linked to Kothari. At the rate at which scams are coming out of the woodwork, one has no guarantee of what they’ll get to see next.