New Delhi: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Wednesday filed charges against a leading Mumbai-based industrialist and his son for cheating banks and against two bank mangers for illegally extending credit facilities to the tune of Rs 43.10 million.

The CBI filed formal charges at a special court in Mumbai against industrialist Manubahi Shah, his son, Bharat Shah and two managers of state-run Oriental Bank of Commerce (OBC) - Prakash Hosati and N. Krishnan, an agency official said.

Another accused, Arun Bhargava, who was a former chief manager of the bank, had died during the investigation period.

The official said that a trust - Kikabhai Premchand Trust - had been accepting money from public for charitable purposes. "During 1994-95 trust money to the tune of Rs 32 million was kept in bonds with Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC)," the official said, adding that the two authorized trustees, Manubhai Shah and N L Shah, had in February, 1995 transferred the money from HDFC to OBC.

Bharat Shah, son of trust chairman Manubhai Shah, was also maintaining an account under the name of Adrik Traders in the OBC. Bharat had to clear a liability to the tune of Rs 70 million towards the Maharashtra State Cooperative Cotton Growers Federation Limited (MSCCGF) by the end of May 1995. "Our investigations have revealed that the trust money was transferred by the senior Shah from HDFC to OBC" to enable the younger Shah clear his debts, the CBI official said.

India Abroad News Service