CBI books kidswear retailer Catmoss MD Ashwini Kumar Chawla for Rs 20 crore fraud

The CBI has booked the chief managing director of Delhi-based kidswear retailer Catmoss Retail Pvt Ltd Ashwini Kumar Chawla and the firm's directors for allegedly cheating Union Bank of India to the tune of Rs 20 crore, officials said on Tuesday.

It is alleged that the company and its officials fabricated balance sheets to avail a loan which was not repaid to the bank, they said. Following a complaint by the bank, the CBI has registered a case of criminal conspiracy and cheating against the company Catmoss Retail Pvt Ltd, Chawla, his wife and guarantor Asha Rani Chawala and the firm's directors Reena Chawla and Asha Rani Chawla, they said.

In its complaint to the CBI, Union Bank of India alleged that the company furnished "forged and fabricated" balance sheets with an intention to cheat and cause wrongful loss to it. "CMD of Catmoss Retail Pvt Ltd Ashwini Chawla, in pursuance of a well knitted criminal conspiracy to fraudulently avail loan facility from the complainant bank by furnishing forged and fabricated balance sheets, has committed offences like cheating, forgery, forgery for purpose of cheating and using as genuine a forged document," it said.

It is alleged that Chawla had approached the bank in 2011 seeking a sanctioned credit limit of Rs 10 crore. The company furnished balance sheets for the financial years 2009-10 and 2010-11 to the bank which were audited by a chartered accountant.

The account was declared a non performing asset on March 31, 2013, having an outstanding of Rs 10.92 crore. The bank extracted a portion of its loan amount by auctioning some properties which it had held as guarantee.

During the inquiry, the chartered accountant, who had purportedly signed the balance sheets, told the bank that it was not the case.