Deepak Kumar faces fraud charge
RCMP allege diamond entrepreneur bilked lender out of more than $1M; his whereabouts are unknown
John McFadden
Northern News Services
Friday, June 23, 2017
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
RCMP is looking for Deepak Kumar, a man who at one time claimed he was going to revitalize the diamond processing industry in Yellowknife.
The man who claimed he was going to revitalize Yellowknife's diamond processing industry back in 2013 is now wanted by RCMP. Deepak Kumar has been charged with fraud over $5,000 and is alleged to have defrauded a lender out of more than $1 million. - NNSL file photo |
In a news release issued Wednesday, the Mounties' financial crime unit in Yellowknife stated Kumar is charged with several offences including fraud over $5,000. Police stated that the value of the alleged fraud is more than $1 million.
RCMP allege Kumar, head of Deepak International Ltd., lied about his assets to secure a loan from Callidus Capital Corporation. Callidus is a private commercial financing company based in Toronto.
The Mounties state the allegations were first reported to RCMP at the end of 2015. The Mounties are currently seeking a warrant for the arrest of Kumar, who is reported to be not in Canada.
In November, the Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment announced it was terminating a trademark licensing agreement that named Deepak International as an approved NWT diamond manufacturer. That meant that Kumar's company had exclusive use of the polar bear trademark.
Polar Bear Diamonds are laser-engraved with a microscopic polar bear symbol, certifying the diamonds are Canadian and conflict-free.
When the department entered into the agreement with Deepak International in 2013, then-minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment David Ramsay called the trademark a "rebirth" for the diamond industry in Yellowknife and the NWT.
Deepak International Ltd.'s proposal to open diamond polishing plants came to an end in 2015 when lender Callidus sued the company, Kumar and his wife Ragini Kumar for $4.5 million. Callidus contended Kumar breached the terms of the loan and failed to provide financial information, among other claims.
The status of that claim is not known.
Ramsay was surprised to hear about the fraud charge when informed of it yesterday by Yellowknifer.
"We believed in the story that Mr. Kumar had," he said, adding he and his team did their due diligence at the time.
"There was nothing untoward in what I saw and knew of him. When it all started to come undone I was surprised."
To secure the loan, Kumar used $18 million worth of equipment he claimed was stored in shipping containers near the Yellowknife Airport. When Callidus opened the containers, the equipment was not there.
Kumar was nowhere to be found either.
He failed to appear at last summer's NWT Supreme Court hearings.
Kumar could not be reached for comment at the time. The company's website was down and the phone number was not working.
Yellowknifer reached out to the territorial government yesterday for comment and to see if it is owed money by Kumar.
Cabinet spokesperson Andrew Livingstone said the GNWT would not comment on the matter, as it is being handled by RCMP.
