The Central Bureau of Investigation booked businessman Ratul Puri, who is the nephew of Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath, and four top officials of Moser Baer in connection with an alleged case of bank fraud of Rs 354 crore, PTI reported on Sunday.

Moser Baer manufactured digital data storage devices, and Puri was its executive director till 2012. It is now defunct.

Besides Puri, the company, its Managing Director Deepak Puri and directors Nita Puri, Sanjay Jain and Vineet Sharma, were also charged. Deepak and Nita Puri are Ratul Puri’s parents. The investigating agency carried out searches at several locations, including the homes and offices of the accused, in connection with the case.

Advertisement

The charges against them include criminal conspiracy, cheating, forgery and corruption, Hindustan Times reported. The CBI began its investigation based on a complaint by Central Bank of India.

Puri has been questioned several times in the past few months in connection with alleged tax evasion. Last week, the Delhi High Court granted him interim protection from arrest till August 20 in a money laundering case related to the AgustaWestland helicopter scam.

On August 11, the Income Tax Department seized a Rs 300-crore bungalow under the anti-benami transactions law and also attached Foreign Direct Investments worth Rs 4 crore in its investigation. During proceedings in July, the Enforcement Directorate had told the court that Puri had received money transacted during the scam.

The former Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government signed the Rs 3,565-crore helicopter deal in 2010 with British-Italian firm AgustaWestland. The deal was put on hold after Italy arrested the head of Finmeccanica, AgustaWestland’s parent company, on charges of paying bribes to win the contract. Christian Michel was extradited to India in January and is now lodged in Tihar Jail.