Mumbai: CBI files fresh FIR against Pushpak Bullions after two closure reports in old case

Mumbai: The CBI has registered a fresh case against Mumbai-based Pushpak Bullions, a company engaged in Bullion trading and jewellery export, after two closure reports earlier in a previous case. The second one was accepted in July last year. 

The fresh FIR was registered on Nov 25 last year, approximately four months after the court accepted the closure report. It has booked Pushpak Bullions Pvt Ltd, its directors Chandrakant Patel, Amit Sampat and unknown officials of the Union Bank of India (UBI) in the fresh case. They are booked for cheating, forgery and criminal conspiracy, among other offences. 

The case was lodged on information received on Sept 20 last year. In this FIR, it’s alleged that the accused got credit facilities of Rs140 crore sanctioned from UBI and Bank of India. It further alleged that they submitted forged financial statements and sales figures were found inflated by using accommodating entries. In the offence, the UBI lost nearly Rs70 crore and Bank of India above Rs12 crore.

The old case concerns allegations against high ranked UBI officials who allegedly connived with proprietors of three private firms M/s Pihu Gold, M/s Satnam Jewels and M/s Pushpak Bullion to convert Rs84 crore of black money into white after demonetisation was announced, thereby causing loss to the bank. 

The court had rejected the first closure report in Oct 2020 in the 2017 case. It had directed the agency to conduct a fair and impartial probe. The second closure report was filed by the CBI stating that it did not find evidence of corruption.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED), that had registered a money laundering case based on the CBI’s FIR, had then intervened in the matter and opposed the report. The court had however accepted this second report and said that both the investigating agencies cannot insist each other to do investigation in any particular direction.