CBI Raids Six Locations in ₹1,109-Crore Canara Bank Fraud Linked to Power Firm

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has conducted searches at six locations across four states in connection with an alleged ₹1,109-crore bank fraud involving Bhubaneswar-based Gupta Power Infrastructure Ltd, officials said on Sunday.

The searches, carried out on Saturday, covered the residential premises of the company's directors in Bhubaneswar, its registered office in Kolkata, and manufacturing facilities in Kashipur (Uttarakhand), Tiruvallur (Tamil Nadu), and Bhubaneswar as part of an ongoing investigation into the alleged financial irregularities.

According to the CBI, the case pertains to the alleged defrauding of Canara Bank through various fund-based and non-fund-based credit facilities availed by the company. The agency has accused the firm and its directors of orchestrating a systematic fraud by manipulating stock valuations, inflating trade receivables, falsifying financial statements to secure enhanced credit limits, siphoning and diverting loan funds, and resorting to 'evergreening' of loan accounts to conceal financial stress and avoid the classification of defaults. The alleged acts are estimated to have caused a wrongful loss of ₹1,109 crore to the public sector lender.

Investigators are examining financial records, digital evidence and corporate documents seized during the searches to establish the money trail, identify the beneficiaries of the diverted funds and determine the extent of individual culpability. The evidence gathered is expected to aid further proceedings under relevant provisions of criminal and banking laws.

The case also underscores the importance of banking oversight mechanisms, including internal credit monitoring, forensic audits, statutory audits and regulatory supervision by financial institutions, in detecting irregularities involving large corporate borrowers. Investigative agencies such as the CBI play a key role in pursuing complex financial crimes that involve alleged diversion of public funds and fraudulent borrowing practices.

The alleged fraud has once again brought the focus on corporate governance, transparency in financial reporting and accountability in corporate lending.