CBI drops corruption angle in Winsome Diamonds case

A Mumbai special Central Bureau of Investigation court has dropped the corruption charge in a ₹323.40 crore Winsome Diamonds fraud case and sent it to a magistrate. (hindustantimes.com) Judge Dr. J. P. Darekar said the record did not show wrongdoing by any public servant, so the Prevention of Corruption Act count could not stand. The remaining case now centers on cheating and conspiracy allegations against private accused linked to fugitive diamantaire Jatin Mehta and Winsome Diamonds & Jewellery Ltd. (hindustantimes.com) The complaint says Bank of Maharashtra was defrauded between 2012 and 2013 through credit facilities that caused a loss of ₹323.40 crore. The Central Bureau of Investigation had earlier booked the case with both Indian Penal Code charges and corruption provisions. (hindustantimes.com; msn.com) That procedural shift changes which court hears the case. Special CBI courts handle corruption cases involving public officials, while a metropolitan magistrate can try the narrower private-fraud counts that remain. (hindustantimes.com) The ruling also fits a broader pattern in the Winsome investigations this year. In March, the same court shifted two other Winsome-linked bank fraud cases to a magistrate after the agency said it had found no evidence against any public servant under the corruption law. (hindustantimes.com) One of those matters involved an alleged ₹214.35 crore fraud tied to Vijaya Bank, now part of Bank of Baroda. Another report published on April 17 said the Central Bureau of Investigation had also cleared Bank of India officers in a separate ₹82.55 crore Winsome-linked case. (hindustantimes.com; thehindubusinessline.com) Winsome’s larger banking collapse stretches well beyond this one file. Officials have said a 14-bank consortium had extended more than ₹4,600 crore in credit to Winsome Diamonds, and investigators have described Mehta as an absconding accused believed to be in London. (hindustantimes.com; devdiscourse.com) What is left now is a simpler criminal case on paper, but a narrower one in scope: no public-official misconduct, no corruption count, and a magistrate court taking up the fraud allegations against private parties. (hindustantimes.com)