Ahmedabad: A pesticide manufacturing unit allegedly secured crores from State Bank of India (SBI), but when bank officials came to recover the dues, they found the premises locked. The machinery that was supposed to back the loan was also allegedly missing. SBI has now claimed a loss of Rs 2.8 crore. CID (Crime) has registered a complaint against the businessman, his guarantor and others.The complaint was filed on Tuesday by the assistant general manager of SBI’s SME branch in Ahmedabad against the firm’s proprietor, guarantor and others.According to the complaint, the businessman approached SBI in Oct 2020 for a cash credit facility of Rs 80 lakh and a term loan of Rs 2 crore to start a pesticide manufacturing unit.He allegedly submitted KYC documents, balance sheets, property papers, machinery quotations, invoices and a title-clear report for the property offered as security.After verifying the proposed premises and examining the documents, the bank sanctioned the loans in Nov 2020. The term loan was released in instalments, and the amounts were credited to the proprietor’s accounts.The trouble began when the borrower allegedly stopped repaying the loans. During a site inspection on May 18, 2022, bank officials allegedly found the unit closed and locked.The bank then issued a demand notice and began proceedings under the Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interest (Sarfaesi) Act. The loan accounts were classified as non-performing assets in July 2022, following which the bank started recovery proceedings before the Debt Recovery Tribunal.An internal investigation conducted by the bank in June 2023 allegedly found that machinery installed at the unit was missing and that the bank had been cheated.The complaint alleges that the proprietor and others failed to repay the outstanding loan and sold machinery that had been mortgaged to the bank without its knowledge, causing financial loss.The total outstanding amount mentioned in the complaint comprises Rs 80.09 lakh under the cash credit facility, Rs 1.72 crore under the term loan and Rs 29.12 lakh under FITL, totalling Rs 2.81 crore, apart from applicable interest.The bank later recovered Rs 62.9 lakh by auctioning the mortgaged property.
