CBI arrests Totem Infrastructure promoters in bank fraud case

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Friday arrested Tottempudi Salalith and Tottempudi Kavita, the promoters of Totem Infrastructure Ltd, in connection with an alleged Rs1,394-crore bank fraud perpetrated against a consortium of eight lenders, officials said. CBI had named Totem Infrastructure, which worked as a sub-contractor for several major infra firms, and its promoters in a first investigation report (FIR) filed on the basis of a complaint from Union Bank of India, one of the eight banks, the officials quoted above said. Union Bank alleged in the complaint that it suffered a loss of Rs313.84 crore as the loans given to the company had become non-performing asset (NPA) in June 2012. Accoring to the officials, the total dues of Totem Infrastructure towards the consortium stands at Rs1394.43 crore. It is alleged that the loans taken from the banks for various projects were diverted for purposes and to the personal bank accounts of the promoters. Totem Infrastructure figured in income tax department’s list of the biggest tax defaulters in 2015 with an outstanding tax of over Rs400 crore. The I-T department had in 2015 also announced a reward of up to Rs15 lakh to informants for tracing the company, calling it “untraceable”, and other defaulters in the list.