Shares of Simbhaoli Sugars crashed 9% to a 52-week low on Wednesday as the CBI questioned the MD of Simbhaoli Sugars Gursimran Kaur Mann with regard to the alleged involvement in banking fraud. Earlier yesterday, the CBI had called Gursimran Kaur Mann, Managing Director, Simbhaoli Sugars to interrogate her in connection with the supposed bank fraud amounting Rs 97.85 crore. The stock of Simbhaoli Sugars tumbled 9.42% to a 52-week low of Rs 12.5 NSE on Wednesday.
A normal trading volume has been witnessed in the shares of Simbhaoli Sugars, as at 10:55 am, more than 0.6 lakh shares exchanged hands on both NSE and BSE with about 0.52 lakh shares on NSE alone. This is the second time in a span of a weekly trading session when Simbhaoli Sugars shares have faced a jolt. Earlier on 26 February 2018, the stock of Simbhaoli Sugars dived about 12% after the CBI booked a case against company’s promoters and others in connection with an alleged Rs 97 crore Oriental Bank of Commerce loan default case.
Gursimran Kaur Mann, MD, Simbhaoli Sugars was the Executive Director during the period when the so-called fraud was committed. In the bank loan default case, the CBI had filed a case against Simbhaoli Sugars, Chairman Gurmit Singh Mann, Director Gurpal Singh, ex-CFO Sanjay Tapriya, MD Gursimran Kaur Mann and five non-executive directors.
A region-wide searched were carried out at about eight premises in Delhi, Hapur and Noida which includes residences of directors, factory, corporate office and registered office. According to a PTI report, the investigation is on two loans, i.e., Rs 97.85 crore which was declared fraud in 2015 and another corporate loan of Rs 110 crore which was used to repay the previous loan. The second loan which was taken to clear previous dues was declared as an NPA (non-performing asset) on 29 November 2016, PTI reported citing CBI FIR.
The state-run lender, Oriental Bank of Commerce, complained to the Central Bureau of Investigation on 17 November 2017, but the agency registered a case of criminal conspiracy and cheating under the Prevention of Corruption Act on 22 February 2018, seven days after the nation’s biggest banking scandal unravelled at India’s second-largest PSU bank Punjab National Bank.
