CBI books BSP MLA, wife in loan fraud case, raids 4 locations (Ld)

Noida/Lucknow, Oct 19 : The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) said on Monday that it has booked BSP MLA Vinay Shankar Tiwari and his wife Rita Tiwari in connection with an alleged bank fraud to the tune of Rs 754.25 crore involving a company, besides carrying out searches at several locations in Lucknow and Noida, officials said.
The CBI case is based on a complaint by Bank of India against two private companies — Gangotri Enterprises and Royal Marketing Pvt Ltd — based in Lucknow and Noida, its directors and other unknown persons on allegations of committing misappropriation, cheating and causing a loss of Rs 754.24 crore to a consortium of banks.
A CBI official said that multiple CBI teams started a search operation at the premises of MLA Tiwari’s firm Gangotri Enterprises in Lucknow and his residential premises.
Tiwari is the son of former minister and a strongman from Gorakhpur, Hari Shankar Tiwari. The MLA and his wife are second-largest shareholders of the company.
The searches were also spread out in Noida at the premises of another accused company, Royal Empire Marketing pvt Ltd, and an accused director in Gangotri Enterprises, Ajit Pandey, a CBI official said.
It has been alleged that the directors of Gangotri Enterprises had misappropriated bank funds and diverted them for other purposes other than for which the loan was taken.