Topworth promoters named in another fraud
Public sector bank — Indian Bank – has informed the exchanges that it has declared as fraud an NPA account of Abhay Narendra Lodha and Ashwin Narendra Lodha, promoters of Topworth Steel and Power Ltd. The bank has accused the Lodhas of diversion of Rs 44.55 crore. The account has been fully provided for, the bank informed the exchanges.
Promoters of Topworth Steel and Power are not new to the charges of diversion of funds provided by the banks.
The CBI has already booked the Mumbai-based company and its directors for cheating IDBI Bank of Rs 63 crore from 2014 to 2016. Besides the company, the CBI has also booked its directors Surendra Champalal Lodha, Abhay Narendra Lodha, Ashwin Narendra Lodha and Niting Golecha in the case.
The promoters of the company were also named in the coal allocation case.
Topworth Steel and Power is already undergoing corporate insolvency resolution process (CIRP) filed against it by State Bank of India (SBI) for defaulting on a payment of Rs 835 crore.
The company owes around Rs 2,930 crore to financial creditors including Rs 930 crore to SBI, Rs 524 crore to PNB, Rs 348 crore to Union Bank of India and Rs 308 crore to Indian Bank.
The Company was incorporated in 2004 on a green field project for establishing a Mini Integrated Steel Plant. The unit/site is centrally located in India in Durg District of Chhattisgarh.
Several other group companies of Topworth Steel and Power Ltd are also undergoing CIRP, the latest being Topworth Urja and Metals Limited. Topworth Urja and Metals Ltd has been dragged into CIRP by Bank of Baroda in August 2022 for defaulting on a payment of Rs 218 crore.
There are others like Topworth Pipes and Tubes, which is being sold as going concern under the liquidation process. Topworth Tollway and Topworth Infra are also undergoing CIRP.
Also See: India’s top willful defaulters
