Have you used Rotomac pen? The brand is owned by a Kanpur-based Kothari family, which owns Rotomac Global, now under CBI and ED scanner for round-tripping. Rotomac Global is run by Vikram Kothari, who is also the managing director with the firm.

A key allegation against Kothari is that he obtained loans on the ground of procuring goods and doing exports. Apparently, Rotomac Global has taken loans from a consortium of seven nationalised banks— Bank of India, Bank of Maharashtra, Indian Overseas Bank, Union Bank of India, Allahabad Bank and Oriental Bank of Commerce. It owns Rs 3,695 crore to the banks.

According to the CBI, the firm has siphoned of Rs 2,919 crore taken in form of loan from the seven banks. 

The CBI has arrested Vikram and his son Rahul, holding position of a director, on Thursday.

The firm took Rs 4.56 billion from Bank of Baroda. According to the public sector bank, the Rotomac Global account was considered as a non-performing asset (NPA) on October 3, 2015.

Currently, apart from the CBI, Enforcement Directorate, ED, and income tax (IT) department, too, are investigating cases against him.

The ED said that it has issued notices to agencies governing land, sea and air transports so as to ensure that the Kothari and his family don’t leave the country. The IT department has attached 11 bank accounts related to Rotomac and its promoters.

The family business was started by MM Kothari, Vikram’s father. The family was popularly referred as the ‘Gutka kings’— they own Pan Parag. The senior Kothari with his sons Vikram and Deepak was the first to introduce mouth fresheners (pan masala) in smart porches which came with zipper and small sachets with lower prices. The small sachet idea was then picked up by MNCs including Unilever and P&G.