Indian origin Singaporean director of spice and nut trader Pars Ram Brothers, Kirpa Ram Sharma, was charged with cheating DBS and Bank of India (BOI) S$3.2 million.
The 62-year-old major shareholder was arrested on Tuesday, September 5, 2018.
The wholesale spice business is currently undergoing liquidation, according to a report by Yahoo Singapore. Sharma was also reportedly declared bankrupt following the liquidation in November 2016.
According to his charge sheet, Sharma abetted his son Kapil Dev Sharma to cheat DBS Bank on August 25, 2015. He had instigated Kapil to apply for receivables financing from the bank for Pars Ram using fraudulent documents.
Kapil allegedly gave DBS an invoice and a delivery order, after which the bank was deceived into disbursing US$620,000 (S$853,368) to import and export company Lion Overseas.
Sharma subsequently also abetted Kapil to apply for receivable financing from BOI on October 7, 2015. He managed to deceive the bank into disbursing US$1,712,000 (S$2,356,396) to Lion Overseas as well.
Sharma is out on a S$220,000 bail, and his case will be heard again on October 3. He currently works as a spice consultant for a local spice trading company.
According to media reports, Pars Ram was founded in Singapore in 1973 by Sharma’s father. The company traded spices such as ginger, cashew nuts, rice and cloves – supplying goods to overseas markets such as India, Australia and Canada.
The firm is said to owe money to between 10 and 17 banks, as Sharma had given personal guarantees to banks for loans extended to Pars Ram. He also reportedly has more US$130 million in liabilities.