Cox and Kings set up 15 fictitious companies to manipulate balance sheet: Report

Economic Offences Wing has found that the travel firm had opened separate bank accounts for each of the 15 companies, obtained PAN numbers and sold tickets to them for two years.

New Delhi: Global tours and travel company Cox and Kings is yet again under the scanner for its alleged manipulation of the balance sheet that goes back to the year 2010.

As per a report published in the Indian Express, the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of Mumbai police investigation has found that the travel firm had in 2010 created 15 fake travel agent companies. It also opened separate bank accounts for each of the 15 companies, obtained PAN numbers and sold tickets to them for two years.

However, all the transactions pertaining to the sale of tickets were only on paper to hide the financials of Cox & Kings and its subsidiaries, reported the paper.

The investigation has also reportedly found that these 15 fictitious customers were also used to rotate funds between Cox and Kings and Ezeego One Travels and Tours Ltd. Ezeego is an affiliate of Cox and Kings and its promoters.

The EOW investigation found that at least 5,911.32 crores were transferred from the travel firm to other companies between 2013 and 2019 where Kerkar has direct interest.

It may be recalled that in 2020, Cox and Kings Promoter Peter Kerkar was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the alleged loan default and money laundering case pertaining to Yes Bank. The case pertains to the ED's money laundering probe in which the central probe agency had said it had found that Yes Bank had a total outstanding amount of ₹3,642 crore against Cox & Kings Group of Companies (CKG).

ED had also arrested the CFO and internal auditor of Cox & Kings Group in connection with the Yes Bank case. CFO Anil Khandelwal and Promoter Peter Kerkar are both behind the bars currently while the latest findings of the EOW forms a part of the 2020 case.

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