A special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court in Mumbai has refused to discharge Abhay Lodha, the director of Topworth Steels and Power Pvt Ltd, from a cheating and criminal conspiracy case. The case involves allegations of causing losses worth ₹74 crore to UCO Bank. The First Information Report (FIR) was registered against M/s Akshata Mercantile Private Ltd (AMPL) and unknown UCO Bank officials after the company submitted four bills worth ₹74 crore under Letter of Credit (LC), which were diverted to Topworth Steels.
The CBI alleged that UCO Bank had discounted bills worth ₹74.82 crore, which were diverted by AMPL to the Topworth Group of Companies. One of the receiving companies refused to accept these bills, stating that the documents were not as per the LC, resulting in unpaid bills and a loss of ₹74.82 crore to UCO Bank. The prosecution claimed that the request letters were prepared at the behest of Lodha.
Lodha’s defense team argued that he was falsely implicated in the case, as he is neither the director nor engaged in the day-to-day affairs of AMPL. They also claimed that merely being the guarantor to the LC does not implicate him in the conspiracy and that there was no evidence to show that funds were being diverted.
However, the court observed that even if Lodha is not the director of AMPL, the investigating officer had collected material to show that AMPL was a company of the Topworth group, of which Lodha was the chairman. The court stated that Lodha has direct control over the business affairs of AMPL and that the investigation revealed that he was the prime accused, without whose indulgence the crime could not have been committed.
The court further said that the material placed on record shows that there was criminal intent behind certain acts of Lodha with regard to the bank. Therefore, the court refused to discharge Lodha from the case, allowing the trial to proceed. The order was passed on June 12, and the case will continue to be heard in the special CBI court.