New Delhi, Dec 20 (IANS): A day after the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) filed a case against Hyderabad-based company Transstroy (India) Ltd for allegedly cheating a consortium of banks of Rs 7,926 crore, the Canara Bank clarified that it has an exposure of Rs 678.28 crore in the accused company.

In a statement, the Canara Bank said, "The bank clarifies that it has an exposure of Rs.678.28 crore in the account of Transstroy India Ltd, reported as fraud to RBI on February 10 this year where 100 per cent provision has been made in the account."

It said that Transstroy India Ltd (TIL), established in 2001, is in the business of developing roads, bridges, tunnels, highways etc.

"The company was enjoying limits from various banks under multiple banking arrangement from 2001. Subsequently, a consortium with Canara Bank as a leader and 13 other banks was formed in 2013 and the total limit sanctioned was Rs 4,765.70 crore and the share of Canara Bank was only Rs 678.28 crore," it said.

It said that out of the Rs 7,926.01 crore fraud amount, the amount of lending made by all the 14 consortium members was Rs 4,765.70 crore. The remaining amount was lent under multiple banking arrangements. Out of this, exposure of Canara Bank was Rs 678.28 crore only, it said, adding that the case was referred to the NCLT Hyderabad which admitted it on October 10, 2018.

The company is under the process of liquidation. It was declared as wilful defaulter on December 26, 2018 by Canara Bank, it added.

The response of Canara Bank came a day after the CBI registered a case against Transstroy (India) Ltd, its chairman and managing director Cherukuri Sridhar, additional directors Rayapati Sambasiva Rao and Akkineni Satish, unknown public servants and unknown others on a complaint from Canara Bank.

A CBI official said that it was alleged that the private firm based in Hyderabad and its directors had availed credit facilities on multiple banking arrangements. The consortium was formed with other banks led by Canara Bank, the official said.

It was further alleged that the accused had been involved in falsification of books of accounts, fudging of stock statements, tampering of balance sheets, round tripping of funds etc.

The official said that the accused misappropriated bank funds and diverted the loan amounts sanctioned and caused a loss of Rs 7,926.01 crore to Canara Bank and other member banks. The account had become NPA and the fraud was reported.

"Searches were conducted at the premises of the company and other accused in Hyderabad and Guntur, which led to the recovery of incriminating documents," the official said.