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A State Bank of India (SBI) branch in Mumbai, India. A bank consortium led by SBI is facing a potential loss of Rs473.657 billion due to alleged fraud committed by Coastal Projects Ltd based in Hyderabad. Image Credit: Bloomberg

New Delhi: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Saturday said it has registered a case against a Hyderabad-based company, including its chairman and managing director and guarantor, managing director and guarantor, and other directors for defrauding State Bank of India-led consortium of banks to the tune of Rs473.657 billion (Dh23.72 billion), and carried out searches at several locations.

A CBI official in New Delhi said that it booked Coastal Projects Ltd based at Hyderabad, its chairman and managing director and guarantor Sabbineni Surendra, MD and guarantor Garapati Harihara Rao, whole-time director and director finance Sridhar Chandrasekharan Nivarthi, whole-time director Sharad Kumar, Guarantor and mortgagor A.K. Ramulu, K. Anjamma, Ravi Kailas Builders Pvt Ltd represented by its managing director/director Ramesh Pasupuleti and Govind Kumar Inani and unknown public servants and others.

The official said that the agency registered a case on a complaint from State Bank of India on behalf of other member banks — IDBI Bank, Canara Bank, BOB, BOM, PNB, UBI, EXIM Bank — for causing an alleged loss of Rs473.657 billion to the banks.

The official said that the bank in its complaint alleged that the accused in connivance with unknown public servants and others defrauded the consortium of banks.

Incriminating documents

“The account became NPA on January 25, 2017 with retrospective effect from October 28, 2013 and reported as fraud on February 20 last year,” he said.

“Searches were conducted at the residential and official premises of the accused at Hyderabad and Vijayawada which led to recovery of several incriminating documents and other material evidences,” the official added.