CBI Opens Probe into Alleged ₹40 Crore Dairy Bank Fraud
India’s Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has opened a formal investigation into a private company involved in dairy and food processing. The inquiry follows allegations that the borrower failed to meet repayment obligations and misused credit facilities extended by a consortium headed by the Bank of Maharashtra.
Law-enforcement authorities put the reported unpaid liabilities at more than ₹40 crore. The company and its directors are being examined in connection with the alleged diversion of borrowed funds and defaults on loans. The firm has not been named in the report.
Investigators are reviewing the borrower’s balance sheets, stock valuations and records showing how credit was used. The loans were reportedly intended to support dairy-processing infrastructure, the purchase of raw milk and working-capital requirements. The CBI is assessing whether those facilities were redirected to purposes not authorised by the lenders.
The inquiry also covers the company’s financial controls and the basis on which the loans were approved. Investigators are checking whether directors submitted inaccurate financial statements or fabricated collateral information. They are also examining the involvement of company executives, independent auditors and internal signatories in transactions that increased the banks’ exposure.
Forensic reviews are expected to trace transfers among several subsidiary accounts. The examination is intended to establish how the outstanding debt accumulated and whether fraudulent intent was involved. The case forms part of wider scrutiny of non-performing assets and lending practices involving mid-sized manufacturing and agro-industrial businesses in India.
The report notes that dairy processors commonly use bank financing for cold-chain equipment, processing facilities and operating funds. When such borrowers stop servicing their debt, lenders may pursue recovery through insolvency proceedings before the National Company Law Tribunal and through investigative agencies. The investigation is continuing, with financial records and credit-use documents under review.
