New Delhi: The CBI on Friday questioned former Jammu and Kashmir Bank chairman Haseeb Drabu in connection with a case related to the purchase of the bank’s office building in Mumbai in 2010 in which it is alleged that there was a loss of Rs 100 crore to the financial institution’s exchequer, officials said here.
The questioning of Drabu, a former finance minister of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir, was done by the CBI officials at their Srinagar office for seven hours, they said.
There was no immediate reaction from Drabu as he did not reply to SMS and messages sent on his WhatsApp.
Earlier this month, the CBI carried out searches at eight locations in Mumbai, Srinagar and Jammu after the agency had registered an FIR in the purchase of the Akruti Gold Building for around Rs 180 crore by the bank for its integrated office in Mumbai on November 11 last year. The FIR was registered following a reference from the Jammu and Kashmir government.
The premises of the then bank directors M I Shahdad and Vikrant Kuthiala, and former executive director A K Mehta were also searched on May 10. The four were members of the estate committee of the bank, the officials said.
“… Incriminating documents, articles and electronic evidence, several bank account details and bank locker keys have been recovered during searches,” CBI spokesperson RC Joshi had said after the searches.
The CBI has alleged that the bank had entered into a deal for its branch office at the Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) with Akruti Gold at a much higher rate than offered by other shortlisted builders causing a loss of over Rs 100 crore to the bank.
The case was earlier probed by the anti-corruption branch of the Jammu and Kashmir Police, which had registered an FIR following a preliminary inquiry.
