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Mumbai: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has registered a case against Future Retail Ltd (FRL), its promoters and directors Kishore Laxminarayan Biyani and Rakesh Gopikishan Biyani, and unknown public servants and others for allegedly defrauding State Bank of India (SBI) of ₹904.32 crore through diversion of funds, layering of transactions and manipulation of financial records, the FIR states.
The FIR was registered on November 4 following a complaint dated October 9 from SBI. The agency has booked them under charges of criminal conspiracy and cheating under the erstwhile Indian Penal Code, along with provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act. CBI teams subsequently conducted searches at multiple premises linked to the promoters in Mumbai and seized documents.
Also Read: SC rejects plea for rules on appointment of ministers with criminal cases
The case follows a forensic audit conducted by BDO India LLP covering the period from April 1, 2017, to April 30, 2022. FRL's loan account was classified as a non-performing asset retrospectively from April 26, 2021 while SBI's Fraud Identification Committee declared it a fraud account on March 23, 2026.
According to the bank's complaint, the forensic auditor identified 13 related and connected entities to which FRL made net payments of ₹5,878.28 crore during the review period. Gross payments to these entities stood at ₹24,002.09 crore against receipts of ₹18,123.79 crore.
Also Read: West Bengal CM announces ₹1,000 crore corpus to renovate old Hindu temples
The audit also identified net payments of ₹1,263.68 crore to nine connected and related entities whose financial capacity and reported revenues were allegedly disproportionate to the amounts received.
Another transaction flagged in the complaint involved group company Syntex Trading & Agency Pvt Ltd. FRL extended loans of ₹606.60 crore to Syntex during FY20. The latter's short-term loans and advances increased sharply from ₹8.37 crore as of March 31, 2019, to ₹850.14 crore as of March 31, 2021. "... This indicated that funds received from FRL may have been used to extend further loans and advances to other group entities rather than for legitimate business operations" , the complaint alleged
The forensic audit also flagged discrepancies in FRL's accounting records. Security deposits reported by the company more than doubled from ₹1,938.35 crore in FY19 to ₹4,406.17 crore in FY20, even as its store count declined from 1,511 to 1,350. Supplier advances rose from ₹530.28 crore in FY17 to ₹3,089.22 crore in FY21, despite purchases declining sharply from ₹13,212.92 crore to ₹3,765.30 crore during the same period.
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The FIR was registered on November 4 following a complaint dated October 9 from SBI. The agency has booked them under charges of criminal conspiracy and cheating under the erstwhile Indian Penal Code, along with provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act. CBI teams subsequently conducted searches at multiple premises linked to the promoters in Mumbai and seized documents.
Also Read: SC rejects plea for rules on appointment of ministers with criminal cases
The case follows a forensic audit conducted by BDO India LLP covering the period from April 1, 2017, to April 30, 2022. FRL's loan account was classified as a non-performing asset retrospectively from April 26, 2021 while SBI's Fraud Identification Committee declared it a fraud account on March 23, 2026.
According to the bank's complaint, the forensic auditor identified 13 related and connected entities to which FRL made net payments of ₹5,878.28 crore during the review period. Gross payments to these entities stood at ₹24,002.09 crore against receipts of ₹18,123.79 crore.
Also Read: West Bengal CM announces ₹1,000 crore corpus to renovate old Hindu temples
The audit also identified net payments of ₹1,263.68 crore to nine connected and related entities whose financial capacity and reported revenues were allegedly disproportionate to the amounts received.
Another transaction flagged in the complaint involved group company Syntex Trading & Agency Pvt Ltd. FRL extended loans of ₹606.60 crore to Syntex during FY20. The latter's short-term loans and advances increased sharply from ₹8.37 crore as of March 31, 2019, to ₹850.14 crore as of March 31, 2021. "... This indicated that funds received from FRL may have been used to extend further loans and advances to other group entities rather than for legitimate business operations" , the complaint alleged
The forensic audit also flagged discrepancies in FRL's accounting records. Security deposits reported by the company more than doubled from ₹1,938.35 crore in FY19 to ₹4,406.17 crore in FY20, even as its store count declined from 1,511 to 1,350. Supplier advances rose from ₹530.28 crore in FY17 to ₹3,089.22 crore in FY21, despite purchases declining sharply from ₹13,212.92 crore to ₹3,765.30 crore during the same period.
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