Former AGM of Punjab National Bank and 3 others get Five Year Rigorous Imprisonment for Bank Fraud

The Special Judge for CBI Cases, Hyderabad has sentenced Shri R. P. Garg, then AGM, Punjab National Bank, Banjara Hills, Hyderabad; Shri Jitender Kumar Agarwal, then MD of M/s. Sheetal Refineries Limited; Shri Sudhir Bhuraria, Authorized Signatory and Shri Manish Bhuraria to undergo five years Rigorous Imprisonment with fine of Rs. 75,000 each. The Court has also imposed a fine of Rs.2 lakh on the private company.

CBI had registered a case on 19.02.2016 against M/s. Sheetal Refineries Limited Gangapahad, RR District, Telangana and its Directors on the allegations of committing bank fraud and causing a loss of Rs. 53.82 crore to Punjab National Bank.

It was alleged that the accused obtained credit facilities from the PNB Large Corporate Branch in Hyderabad and presented false statements/ documents/information to the bank, including false stock statements for the purpose of obtaining credit facilities and audited balance sheets, statements with false information, and so on. It was also claimed that the accused opened four LCs throughout the relevant period, and the circumstances in the LCs were not uniform.

It was also claimed that the AGM did not check the difference in the number of bills and confirmation letters, resulting in the Bank overpaying the Borrower. The stated AGM did not impose the condition of transporting products through IBA recognised transporters and instead enabled the accused to submit Lorry Receipts from transporters who were not on the IBA approved list. He also altered LC terms and conditions without the sanctioning authority’s consent, exceeding his assigned powers.

On September 23, 2016, a charge sheet was submitted before the Designated Court in Hyderabad against six accused, including Shri R. P. Garg, then Assistant General Manager of Punjab National Bank, M/s. Sheetal Refineries Limited and its MD, and others. The then-CEO of M/s. Sheetal Refineries Limited died, and the Trial Court dismissed the lawsuit against him.