03 March,2021 07:13 AM IST | Mumbai | Vishal Singh
Police say Cox & Kings owes Rs 449 cr to Axis Bank, Rs 239 cr to IndusInd Bank and Rs 174 cr to Kotak Mahindra Bank
The Economic Offences Wing of city police has got the custody of Peter Kerkar, the arrested promoter of debt-ridden travel firm Cox & Kings, who is accused of duping banks of R1,200 crore. Cases have been filed against Kerkar by Axis Bank, Laxmi Vilas Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, HDFC Bank and IndusInd bank.
According to the EOW, Kerkar allegedly took bank loans and diverted the funds for reasons other than what he had cited while borrowing the money. An EOW officer said they have come across 757 transactions believed to be tied to the illicit transfers.
The police said the firm owes Rs 449 crore to Axis Bank, Rs 239 crore to IndusInd Bank and Rs 174 crore to Kotak Mahindra Bank.
In 2020, the Enforcement Directorate had arrested Kerkar and he was placed in judicial custody. The EOW later moved court for Kerkar's custody.
"We had filed an application in PMLA [Prevention of Money Laundering Act] court to get Kerkar's custody which the court agreed. We will take Kerkar's custody from Taloja jail and present him in the court tomorrow [Wednesday]," an EOW officer said.
Kailash Date, a former vice president of Cox and Kings, said that the company had over 2,000 employees who are yet to receive salary for five months, which works out to nearly R95 crore. "Employees were not paid from May to October of 2019 and were told that the company had gone bankrupt. I worked in the company for 20 years but it has not cleared my PF and Gratuity."
