Ex-BHEL official defrauds bank of Rs 6 crore, in CBI net

CHENNAI: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has launched an investigation against a former executive director of Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) running his own company for cheating a bank of Rs 6.3 crore.
The Madurai branch of CBI registered a case against K Manickam, his firm Hi-Tech cranes and his wife P Maragatham last week for criminal conspiracy, cheating and forgery based on a complaint by Canara Bank.
An internal fraud investigation by the bank, a copy of which was submitted to the CBI, showed that the firm did not pay back Rs 6.3 crore borrowed as loan or its interest. The firm, Hi-Tech cranes, had falsely claimed to have Rs 2.11 crore in pending payments from BHEL, for whom it was a vendor, while the investigation found that only Rs 18.86 lakh was owed. Manickam had submitted a letter of a senior BHEL official and some bills to show pending payments to back his claim, both of which were found to fake.