Special CBI Court Sentences Former New India Assurance GM, Dr Anand Mittal to 4 Years in ₹162 Crore Misappropriated Fund Case

Mumbai: The special CBI court heard that former managing director of New India Assurance (NIA) Company, Dr. He sentenced Anand Mittal to four years in prison for misappropriating funds worth Rs 162 million from March 2010 to December 2014. Corruption by CBI in September 2016.

About the Case

During the investigation, the agency had seized a bank account maintained by Mittal in Hisar. Following the conviction, the court decided to confiscate the money in the account in the amount of 1.30 million Rupees. According to the prosecution, Mittal was appointed as the MD of M/s Prestige Assurance PLC (PA) Lagos, Nigeria, a subsidiary of NIA. During his tenure from March 3, 2010 to December 12, 2014, he approved an internal memo and accepted $2,63,462.82 from the firm under the heading ‘separation gift and pension’.

CBI alleged that the amount was withdrawn and accepted without the approval of the board of directors. However, Mittal claimed that the board approved this amount. The CBI also withdrew the minutes of the meeting held on October 29, 2014, where 15 million Naira (a small fraction of the actual withdrawn amount) and 18% pension were approved. The document in question was seized from Mittal’s custody during the investigation.

Prosecutor’s Office Provided a Copy of the Meeting Minutes

The prosecution also produced a copy of the minutes of the meeting without mentioning the approval of the ‘parting gift and pension’. The document submitted by the prosecution was a certified copy of the original transcripts; As claimed by the defense, the documents presented by Mittal were also original.

Upon the prosecution’s defense, the court asked the company to present the original copy. However, the company refused to show it, saying that it was a bound document and the property of the company. This is how the company obtained the actual minutes of the meeting. The court said Mittal had no reason to have the original meeting minutes when he was no longer in office and therefore they could not be considered original.