Citi Fraud: Sanjeev Aggarawal says he won''t pursue FIR

Gurgaon, Jan 24 (PTI) Within a fortnight of Citibanksaying that it would ''fairly compensate'' the victims in the Rs400 crore fraud, Sanjeev Aggarwal -- one of the affected highnetworth individuals (HNIs) -- today said he would not pursuehis complaint against the foreign lender.

However, Gurgaon Police Commissioner S S Deswal said thepolice would investigate the case thoroughly and comments ofAggarwal have no legal value.

"With reference to the FIR registered on January 4, 2011concerning the fraudulent investment of funds from ouraccount, we have today decided not to pursue our complaintsagainst Citibank and senior management," Helion AdvisorManaging Director Sanjeev Aggarwal said in a statement.

"Through discussions with Citibank, we have been apprisedof additional facts we were not aware of earlier, and thecomplaints against Citibank and its executive officers isnot appropriate," he said.

Aggarwal claimed about Rs 33 crore loss in the fraud.

Earlier this month, Citibank had said it was workingtowards providing "fair compensation" to its affectedcustomers, who are high networth individuals (HNIs).

"We have since been in contact with our impactedcustomers and are committed to safeguarding our customers�legitimate interests," Citibank statement had said.

When contacted Deswal told PTI, "after FIR, the case is astate property and we will investigate the case. Comments ofthe complainant has no legal value."

One of the relationship managers, Shivraj Puri, atGurgaon branch of Citibank allegedly duped HNIs and corporatesof their money and routed it to stock exchange.

Aggarwal said, "We regret any inadvertent impact of thecomplaint has had on the reputation of Citibank and its seniorexecutive officers."

Other victims of the fraud include big names such as thepromoters of the Hero Group (Rs 250-crore).

Entities whose funds were allegedly diverted by Puri tothe stock market include OKS Span Tech (Rs 2 crore), SatyamAuto (Rs 25 crore), Mayar Infratech (Rs 24 crore), Spaid (Rs62 crore), Karopat Pad (Rs 8 crore), Aero Infratec (Rs 25crore) and Munab Braej (Rs 71 crore).