CBI kick-starts probe into Rs 6 cr textile corporation scam

CHENNAI: A high-stakes financial fraud case involving National Textile Corporation Limited (NTCL) has taken a significant turn, with CBI commencing the probe following revelations of cross-border complexities and alleged collusion among multiple international entities.

The case, initially registered in 2017, pertains to a Rs 6 crore export scam linked to forged documents, unpaid dues, and criminal misappropriation of goods spreading international locations including London, Karachi, Auckland, and Thailand.

In 2015, NTCL's Southern Regional Office in Coimbatore, which oversees 14 of the public sector giant's twenty-three mills, dispatched 10 containers of premium cotton yarn to two Karachi-based firms - Madina Impex International (6 containers) and Transtrade Global (4 containers). The transactions were facilitated via Letters of Credit (LCs) issued by Suisse Credit Capital (2009) Limited (London) through Corporation Bank's Coimbatore branch, with Thailand-based Anametrics Intertrade Limited acting as the LC applicant.

Despite the LCs being issued as irrevocable under Uniform Customs and Practice for Documentary Credits (UCPD) guidelines, NTCL never received payment. Shockingly, the original shipping documents—critical for claiming goods—were allegedly released without NTCL's consent to logistics firms APS Container Line Limited and NYK Line Pakistan Private Limited, enabling the Pakistani buyers to take possession of the consignments.

The buyers later sought discounts citing “quality deficiencies”, prompting NTCL to investigate. It was discovered that a letter purportedly from NTCL's General Manager (Technical) cancelling the transaction had been sent to Transtrade Global General Equity, Auckland (the LC's New Zealand-based party). However, NTCL's internal inquiry found no record of such communication, raising suspicions of forgery and criminal conspiracy.

Corporation Bank also faces accusations of failing to retrieve the original documents, with NTCL alleging collusion among the involved entities. A criminal FIR (No. 87/2017) was filed in Coimbatore CCB on July 9, 2017, under IPC Sections 120B (criminal conspiracy), 468 (forgery), 471 (using forged documents), and 420 (cheating).

The case saw little progress for four years until August 2021, when investigators flagged the need for international cooperation, as entities in Pakistan, London, Thailand, New Zealand, and India were implicated.

Tamil Nadu's Director General of Police (DGP) sought the central government’s intervention leading to a state notification (November 9, 2024) and a subsequent Union government order (March 10, 2025) empowering the central agency to probe the case.

The CBI is now spearheading the investigation, with authorities examining the role of all accused parties, including the banks and foreign entities based on the initial complaint filed by the NTCL's Chief General Manager (Technical), KG Manojkumar.