Mumbai: Former customs official gets one year in jail in Rs 14-crore cheating case

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A special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court in Mumbai on Wednesday convicted a former superintendent of the Customs and Central Excise department and two others in a 2009 case concerning forgery of exports-related documents and duty evasion of about Rs 14 crore, news agency PTI reported.

Special judge SM Menjonge held the trio guilty under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) section 420 (cheating) and the Prevention of Corruption Act and sentenced them to one year of simple imprisonment.

As per the prosecution, Dattaram Kubde, the then superintendent (technical) of the department, allowed Mohammed Hussain Sattar, the proprietor of an export firm, to falsify the B-17 bond (a general-purpose running bond used in export-import trades) and present false information.

The superintendent actively participated in the conspiracy to evade duties while availing the EOU (Export Oriented scheme), PTI reported.

Sattar benefited from the fraud by executing the forged B-17 bond for Rs 10 lakh, which he misrepresented as Rs 1 crore, the prosecution said.

These actions led to the evasion of Rs 13.76 crore in duties, it said.

CBI, represented by special public prosecutor Ashish Bilgaiyan, claimed that the third convict, Naresh Bhatia, continued the fraudulent practices initiated by Sattar.

After perusing the evidence and documents on record, the court held that the prosecution had proved its case beyond reasonable doubt against Kubde, Sattar and Bhatia.

The court acquitted two more accused in the case for want of evidence.

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