KOLKATA – The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Economic Offences Branch (EOB) in Kolkata, has registered a First Information Report (FIR) against M/s Pawansut Earthmovers India Pvt. Ltd. and its three directors for allegedly defrauding the State Bank of India (SBI) of approximately ₹9.26 crore.
The case, registered on January 15, 2026, follows a formal complaint by Mr. Sanjeev Kumar, Deputy General Manager at SBI’s Administrative Office in Varanasi.
The Accused and Credit Facilities
The FIR names the borrower company, headquartered in Ghazipur with operations in Mirzapur, and its directors: Abhishek Singh, Amresh Singh, and Vivek Singh . The company, which held a dealership for Tata Hitachi Construction Machineries, had availed credit facilities totaling ₹9.59 crore from SBI’s Specialized Commercial Branch in Varanasi starting in December 2018.
The credit package included:
- ₹7.0 crore under the Electronic Dealer Financing Scheme (e-DFS).
- ₹1.0 crore as a Cash Credit limit.
- ₹1.59 crore under the Guaranteed Emergency Credit Line (GECL).
Modus Operandi: Diversion and Forgery
The bank’s internal investigation revealed that between 2018 and 2021, the accused entered into a criminal conspiracy to siphon off bank funds rather than using them for business operations. Key allegations include:
More Read
- Diversion of Funds: Approximately ₹1.35 crore was transferred to an associate concern, M/s Pawansut Automobiles India Pvt. Ltd., and ₹45 lakh was diverted to the directors’ father, Mr. Tribhuvan Narayan Singh.
- Siphoning to Third Parties: The company allegedly transferred ₹3.55 crore to Tata Capital Financial Services Ltd. during 2020-2021.
- Collateral Fraud: To secure the loans, the directors allegedly used a fake Power of Attorney to mortgage land owned by a trust, misleading the bank regarding the legality of the security.
- Stock Discrepancies: A 2021 audit found that hypothecated stocks were largely unavailable, with the company allegedly submitting fabricated financial and stock statements to hide the siphoning of sale proceeds.
Financial Impact and Legal Proceedings
The accounts were declared a Non-Performing Asset (NPA) on September 28, 2021, with an outstanding irregularity of ₹9.26 crore (excluding interest). While the bank initially attempted recovery via the SARFAESI Act, the action was withdrawn after legal opinions deemed the mortgaged “Trust Property” non-compliant for such enforcement. Recovery suits are currently pending before the Debts Recovery Tribunal (DRT) and NCLT Allahabad.
The CBI has booked the accused under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), including 120-B (Criminal Conspiracy), 420 (Cheating), 409 (Criminal Breach of Trust), and 467/468 (Forgery), along with Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption Act regarding unknown public servants.
Notably, the accused are reportedly under investigation for a similar modus operandi in a separate case filed by Punjab National Bank. Inspector Rahul Kumar of the EOB Kolkata has been assigned to lead the current investigation .
