Rs 5,000 cr bank fraud: Nitin Sandesara, family may have fled to Nigeria
NEW DELHI: A month after reports suggested that Nitin Sandesara, owner of Gujarat-based Sterling Biotech and wanted by the CBI and the ED in a Rs 5,000 crore bank fraud, was detained in Dubai, it has now emerged that he is not in the UAE and could have fled to Nigeria.
According to top sources in the two agencies, Sandesara and other family members including brother Chetan Sandesara and sister-in-law Diptiben Sandesara were believed to be hiding in Nigeria. India doesn’t have an extradition treaty or a Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty with Nigeria and bringing them back from the African country would be difficult, sources said.
An officer, who didn’t wish to be named, said, “There were reports that Nitin Sandesara was detained by UAE authorities in Dubai in the second week of August. It was incorrect information. He was never detained in Dubai. He and other family members probably left for Nigeria much before that.”
However, the investigation agencies are planning to send a request to UAE authorities asking them to “provisionally arrest” the Sandesaras if they are seen there. Efforts are also on get Interpol red corner notices issued against the Sandesaras. It is not known if the Sandesaras travelled to Nigeria on Indian passports or some other country’s document.
The CBI and the ED have booked Vadodara-based Sterling Biotech+ , its directors Nitin, Chetan and Dipti Sandesara, Rajbhushan Omprakash Dixit, Vilas Joshi, chartered accountant Hemant Hathi, former Andhra Bank director Anup Garg and unidentified persons for cheating banks of Rs 5,000 crore.
The ED arrested Delhi-based businessman Gagan Dhawan and Garg and attached assets worth Rs 4,700 crore of the pharmaceutical firm in June. However, officials said bringing the Sandesaras back to India to face criminal trial was important as they had diverted huge amounts of money abroad.
It is alleged that the Sandesaras set up more than 300 shell and benami companies in India and abroad which were used to divert loans. Officials said the modus operandi for money laundering used by the Sandesaras involved formation of shell/benami companies, manipulating balance sheets, inflating turnover and insider shares trading. These firms were controlled by the Sandesaras through dummy directors, who were or are employees of various companies of the Sterling group. Bogus sales/purchases were shown between the benami companies and the Sterling group firms to divert loans and inflate turnover to obtain further loans from banks.
Courtesy: timesofindia
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
11-year-old dies by suicide after sexual assault in Bareilly; accused arrested
Bareilly (UP) (PTI): A 26-year-old man has been arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting an 11-year-old girl, who later died by suicide due to trauma, police said on Wednesday.
The post-mortem report confirmed sexual assault and multiple injuries on the minor's body, including bite marks and nail scratches. The cause of death was found to be hanging, they said.
According to ASP (South) Anshika Verma, the incident came to light on 27 April, when the girl, a Class 8 student, was found hanging at her home in Deoria Abdullaganj village under the Mirganj police station area. Initially, the family reported the death as suicide and was reluctant to pursue police action.
"The autopsy report changed the course of the investigation. It confirmed sexual assault and noted severe physical trauma. The cause of death was confirmed as hanging," Verma said.
A breakthrough in the case came from the statement of the victim's younger sister, who told police that the accused, Zeeshan (26), a resident of the same village, frequently loitered near the minor's school and allegedly gave her small sums of money to keep his interactions with her a secret, she said.
Police said that on the day of the incident, the accused allegedly lured the minor and assaulted her. Distressed by the incident, the child later took her own life while her mother was away, police said.
"Based on technical surveillance, CCTV footage, and statements from the family, we established Zeeshan's involvement. He was arrested near the Mirganj weekly market on Tuesday," they said.
