CBI not to go easy on Sujana Chowdary

Hyderabad: As part of the investigation into the multi-crore bank fraud case, the CBI is said to be shortly sending another notice to Rajya Sabha member Y. Sujana Chowdary — who defected from the Telugu Desam to the BJP on Thursday — to appear before it.

With Mr Chowdary and others joining the BJP, there are apprehensions in political circles that the agencies that are probing the MP might “go slow”.

“As part of the investigation into the bank fraud case, it is essential that Chowdary be examined by the team from the Banking Security and Fraud Cell (BSFC) of the CBI. The CBI will not be affected by the political developments. We continue to do our job,'' a CBI official from New Delhi told Deccan Chronicle. He said that a notice will be served shortly summoning Mr Chowdary to the Bengaluru office of the CBI for questioning.

The Bengaluru unit of the CBI had filed three FIRs based on complaints from three banks that Best and Crompton Engineering Projects Limited, Chennai, owned by Mr Chowdary, caused a total loss of Rs 364 crore by obtaining loans after submitting false statements and accounts.

The loss caused was Rs 133 crore to the Central Bank of India, Rs 71 crore to Andhra Bank and Rs 159 crore to the Corporation Bank. The Enforcement Directorate too had taken up their own investigation based on the CBI cases. The ED is investigating the cases under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

“Not one, we will be issuing several notices summoning Chowdary at different intervals, depending on the progress of the case. Just like we do in any other case, we summon the persons four to five times or sometimes even more than that. Only after a few rounds of questioning do we get clarity about the case. As regards this bank fraud case, it is a complex case and needs thorough investigation. Without examining the persons connected to a case, the case cannot reach the logical conclusion,” the CBI official said.

Asked whether there will be political pressure now that Mr Chowdary had joined the BJP, the official just said: “We are focused on our job. It is a different matter if he challenges the CBI summons legally.”

While the CBI is conducting its own investigation, the Enforcement Directorate has claimed that the Sujana group had defrauded banks to the tune of Rs 5,700 crore, and had searched the office and residence of Mr Chowdary on November 23 and 24, 2018.

In April this year, the ED had attached assets worth `315 crore in connection with the money laundering and alleged bank fraud case against a firm promoted by Mr Chowdary.