Justice N. Sathish Kumar recorded the submission of RBI counsel Chevanan Mohan that the report would be filed in the court on Monday. The order was passed after it was reported to the court that a special investigation team (SIT), constituted on the orders of the court, had on Friday arrested one of the accused involved in the case.

TAMIL NADU
Madras High Court calls for report from RBI on Chennai-based jeweller
Legal Correspondent
CHENNAI 05 SEPTEMBER 2020 00:27 IST
UPDATED: 05 SEPTEMBER 2020 00:27 IST

He had offered interest-free gold loans and re-pledged the jewels
The Madras High Court on Friday directed the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to file a report on the inquiry conducted by it into the financial irregularities of a Chennai-based jeweller who had reportedly offered interest-free gold loans to many individuals, pledged their jewels with other institutions to raise money for his real estate business and then disappeared.

Justice N. Sathish Kumar recorded the submission of RBI counsel Chevanan Mohan that the report would be filed in the court on Monday. The order was passed after it was reported to the court that a special investigation team (SIT), constituted on the orders of the court, had on Friday arrested one of the accused involved in the case.

A Government Advocate told the court that the prime accused Syed Hifzur Rahman Biyabani was still at large. However, the sixth accused was arrested by a special team headed by a Superintendent of Police in the Economic Offences Wing.

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Initially, Justice Pushpa Sathyanarayana had taken serious note of the issue last year during the hearing of a plea by Biyabani to annul an order adjudicating him as an insolvent. She found that he had taken gold jewellery from many people by promising interest free loans and re-pledged them with banks and other institutions.

Since he had failed to redeem those jewels and fled, the judge issued a non-bailable arrest warrant against him. On August 17, Justice Kumar directed the Home Secretary to constitute a special investigation team to apprehend the offenders since advocate A. Saravanan, representing one of the loanees, said jewels worth several crore of rupees were involved.

The judge also directed the Official Assignee of the High Court to take steps for auctioning the immovable properties of the prime accused.