Fraud claims against Mansoor Ijaz surface: Report

Mansoor Ijaz had raised $1.5 million on the false pretext that he had backing from an influential Indian businessman.

NEW YORK: Mansoor Ijaz, the principal character in the Memogate case, has come under speculation for fraud, The Hindu reported on Monday.

According to the report, Ijaz had raised over $1.5 million from a San Marino bank on the pretext that he had the backing of a politically-influential Indian business family.

Letters filed by Ijaz before the New York Supreme Court, where he is seeking an extension to repaying his loans, show that he had told the court he had the backing of an investor, with close ties with Tata Motors in India to "invest close to $10 million in a company which would produce the world's most energy-efficient powertrains."

The contract for the deal had been signed in February 2008. He told the bank that he would provide details after a visit to India scheduled for late March, 2008. “Much hard work,” he wrote in a message to Banca Sammarinese di Investimento's directors citing temporary business reverses for his default, “has gone into correcting the situation, above all to protect my political reputation and future role in American politics.”

However, the paper reported that Tata Motors denied that it ever had any dealings whatsoever with Ijaz, or his powertrain company EcoDrive. No publically available information could confirm whether Ijaz, or his company ever started work on the powertrain.

The Hindu further reported that immigration authorities could not offer evidence of any trip undertaken by Ijaz to India during that time.

Even after Ijaz was sentenced in September, 2010 to payback BSI sums upto $1.74 million, he was yet to do so.