New Delhi:
A British citizen has been arrested for allegedly falsifying a document in the name of the Treasury to suspend proceedings against his company under a law to reclaim non-performing asset loans, police said on Tuesday.
London-based Bharat Amritlal Parikh’s Gujarat-based GPT Steel Industries Ltd was facing proceedings under the Securitization and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interest (SARFAESI) Act, 2002, they said.
The law authorizes banks and financial institutions in India to take over assets and property from a borrower to recover an unpaid debt.
Parikh is a chartered accountant and is also involved in the import and export of steel products. He is a British citizen with an Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) passport, police said.
Investigation into the case began after a complaint from the Ministry of Finance that a forged notification document had been used to suspend SARFAESI proceedings against the company, M/s GPT Steel industries Ltd, Ahmedabad, a senior police officer said.
The company had taken out a loan from a public sector bank and it became a non-performing asset (NPA) in 2008, with exposure of Rs 518 crore, the officer said.
Later, the SARFAESI procedure was initiated by the bank, the officer said.
Based on the false report, Bhuj’s district magistrate had suspended possession of a mortgaged property and the SARFAESI action against the company, police said.
During the investigation, it was found that Parikh, in conspiracy with his associates, had prepared and used the forged notice to stop the SARFAESI proceeding. Verification carried out in Bhuj in Gujarat and the details obtained from various sides has proved the fact of forgery, the officer said.
A lookout circular was issued against Parikh and he was detained at IGI Airport in Delhi on arrival from London and later arrested. He has been taken into police custody and further investigations are underway, said Chhaya Sharma, the Joint Commissioner of Police (Economic Crimes Wing).
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