Srei auditor flags fresh fraud of Rs 296 cr under former promoters

The transaction auditor of debt-ridden Srei has indicated a fresh fraud amounting to Rs 296 crore under the erstwhile promoters.

As per the report prepared by the transaction auditor, the concerned transactions occurred during financial years 2014-2015 to 2021- 2022, Srei Infrastructure Finance Ltd said in a regulatory filing.

The fraud relates to certain disbursement made to a company called ARSS. The amount of Rs 295.69 crore is the gross outstanding, including principal and interest recoverable from the customer, as on September 30, 2021, on account of the suspect disbursement of loans, it added.

Srei is undergoing insolvency resolution under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC).

The administrator had appointed BDO India as a Transaction Auditor, which unearthed this fraud, it said, adding the application has been filed before the NCLT under Section 60(5) and Section 66 of the IBC on January 5, 2023.

Earlier, the transaction advisor had flagged fraud transactions worth over Rs 5,000 crore.

The Reserve Bank of India had in October 2021 superseded the boards of SIFL (Srei Infrastructure Finance Limited) and its wholly-owned subsidiary SEFL (Srei Equipment Finance Limited). A joint resolution is taking place for these companies for their outstanding liabilities of about Rs 32,000 crore.