Mumbai, Dec 17 (IANS): The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has filed a charge sheet against three top executives of the Corporation Bank in connection with a Rs 79 crore fraud case, before the Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Court at Esplanade Court, an official said here on Friday.

The accused are: the then Chairman-and-Managing Director Ramnath Pradeep, the former Chief Manager S. N. Murthy Shankar and the ex-Senior Manager A. P. Shiva Kumar.

Following a complaint by Corporation Bank against a private company engaged in manufacturing aluminium foil containers, and its directors and Chartered Accountant and others, the CBI lodged a case on June 16, 2017.

As per the complaint, the directors, CA and others of that company - against whom the CBI lodged its charge sheet on December 28, 2020 - conspired to avail various credit facilities to the tune of Rs 60 crore from the e-Corporation Bank (now, UBI).

They allegedly diverted the funds to real estate and other unrelated businesses by way of loans/advances, causing a loss of more than Rs 79 crore to the Corporation Bank.

The complaint said the Corporation Bank officials conspired with the Managing Director of the private company and allowed disbursal of Rs 59 crore without confirming the drawing power from the lead bank, the IOB, and made no efforts to become a member of the consortium to protect the bank's interest.

The Corporation Bank officers repeatedly extended the time limits to the private company for seeking NOC from the lead bank inducting Corporation Bank in the consortium, and later the NOC condition was dispensed.

Investigations found that the e-Corporation Bank had allegedly sanctioned a working capital limit of Rs 60 crore to the private company on the pretext of refusal by 3 banks of the consortium to share the enhanced limits.

The accused did not ensure confirmation from those 3 banks on the reasons for refusing to share the increase in the limits, and sanctioned it without ascertaining the factual position of financial closure and the tie-up status.

The officials had flouted the sanction limits, waived the NOC conditions and other irregularities that benefited the private company while causing a loss to the Corporation Bank.

Two of the accused, Shankar and Kumar were said to have appraised the sanction proposal of the company though fully aware that the loan applicant was neither a director nor authorised signatory of that company.

The accused trio were allegedly associated in preparing the memorandums for modifications of the sanction terms for that private company without verifying the full details and disbursed the loan without informing the lead bank of the same.