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Indian Express
13-05-2025
- Business
- Indian Express
New India co-op bank scam: EOW files 12,634-page chargesheet against 10
Mumbai Police's Economic Offences Wing (EOW) on Tuesday filed a 12,634-page chargesheet in the Rs 122-crore New India Cooperative Bank funds embezzlement case against 10 people including the former general manager of the bank Hitesh Mehta. The former chairman of the bank Hiren Bhanu and former deputy chairman and his wife Gauri Bhanu, have been shown as wanted accused in the case. Blue corner notices have already been issued against them. A senior EOW officer said that the chargesheet has been filed against arrested accused Mehta, Dharmesh Paun, Abhimanyu Bhoan, Manohar Maruthuwar, Kapil Dedhia, Ullahanathan Arunachalam, Javed Azam and Rajiv Ranjan Pandey and Bhanu couple, who are wanted and declared proclaimed offenders by the court. All the accused have been chargesheeted under relevant sections of Bhartiya Nyay Sanhita for criminal breach of trust, forgery and criminal conspiracy. EOW officials recorded statements of 45 witnesses in the case and conducted 55 panchnamas. The investigators have also submitted statements of eight key witnesses recorded as per the provisions of 183 of Bhartiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS). The probe agency has already attached properties worth Rs 167 crore belonging to the accused, as per the procedure under section 107 of Bhartiya Nyay Sanhita. Six accused — Ajayasingh Rathore from Rajasthan, Pawan Jaiswal from Jharkhand, Shaukat Jamadar from Karnataka, Abhijeet Deshmukh of Sanjay Rane and Associates, Laxminarayan Nayak of Shinde Nayak and Associates and Subhash Mogal of S.I. Mogal and Company — are shown as wanted accused in the case. The accused ex-GM Mehta allegedly embezzled money from the bank's safe from 2019 to 2025 and handed it over to Paun and Ullahanathan. Police said after the fraud was uncovered during an RBI inspection at the bank's Prabhadevi and Goregaon branches on February 12, Mehta confessed to the crime and revealed the roles of the other accused. The RBI imposed restrictions on the bank, including a ban on deposit withdrawals and the appointment of an administrator, on February 13. The RBI also superseded the bank's board and appointed an administrator. Mumbai police registered a case and EOW initiated an investigation in the matter. EOW made arrests in the case including ex-GM Mehta. EOW also got a lie detector test and a brain-mapping test conducted on Mehta during the investigation. The Enforcement Directorate (ED), which is also carrying out a money laundering probe into the fund case, has claimed to have found that Rs 45 crore was diverted to the bank's former chairman Hiren Bhanu's overseas entities. EOW is also conducting a preliminary enquiry (PE) into allegations of NPAs worth over Rs 400 crore. The complaint claims the bank continued disbursing loans to defaulting accounts despite repeated non-payments.
Indian Express
30-04-2025
- Business
- Indian Express
Rs 122 crore embezzlement case: Bail plea of New India coop bank former CEO rejected
A magistrate court rejected the bail plea of Abhimanyu Bhoan, former CEO of New India Cooperative Bank, arrested in connection with alleged embezzlement of Rs 122 crore from the bank's safe. The court said that although no amount has been recovered from him yet, the allegation against him is that he destroyed his old phone in a bid to erase evidence. 'Though yet no any amount is recovered from the accused but it is an allegation against him that he is using new mobile and (had) destroyed the previous mobile with a view to destroy evidence against him and the absconded main accused. The above conduct is sufficient to held that he is having involvement in the offence and investigation is yet to be ended. Moreover he was the CEO of the Bank and it is an allegation that he was well aware about the cash in hand in the Bank…,' the additional chief judicial magistrate said in the order passed on Monday, made available on Tuesday. The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Mumbai Police had arrested Bhoan in February along with Hitesh Mehta, the former general manager of the bank, claiming that they illegally collected and deposited money in the bank and embezzled money in small amounts. The police had claimed that Bhoan was given Rs 1 crore of the embezzled amount. Bhoan, in his bail plea, said that there was no evidence against him other than the statement of Mehta and that he was falsely implicated. He also submitted that he had a salary of Rs 60 lakh per annum, and hence it is not possible that he would put at risk his family and himself over Rs 1 crore. He also submitted that he was not handling day to day affairs of the bank. The police opposed the bail plea stating that Bhoan was aware of the fact that the cash retention limit of the bank for each branch had increased from Rs 10 crore to Rs 20 crore. The police also said that they had found documents belonging to Hiren Bhanu, former chairperson and his wife Gauri, former vice-chairperson of the bank, the two co-accused who are absconding, on Bhoan's laptop. '…with the help of present accused the main accused Hiren Bhanu and Gauri Bhanu committed the offence therefore if he will be released on bail there is chances of his absconding and to destroy the evidence,' the court said.
Hindustan Times
26-04-2025
- Hindustan Times
New India Co-op Bank case: ED launches money laundering probe, seizes valuables worth ₹1 crore
MUMBAI: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday carried out searches at seven locations across Mumbai and Gujarat in connection with an alleged ₹122 crore bank fraud involving the New India Co-operative Bank (NICB). The searches, conducted under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), led to the seizure of valuables worth ₹1 crore and several documents, including property records. The search operation centred on Hiren Bhanu, former chairman of New India Co-operative Bank, who allegedly facilitated the diversion of bank loans that turned into non-performing assets (NPAs). According to ED officials, these funds, estimated to exceed ₹45 crore, were transferred to overseas entities linked to Bhanu. The alleged transactions were traced during ED's search operation. The embezzlement at the bank came to light during a Reserve Bank of India (RBI) risk assessment, which first flagged the same. Mumbai police's Economic Offences Wing (EOW) is also probing the matter under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. ED officials stated that the current phase of the investigation focuses on tracing the flow of funds and identifying beneficiaries involved in the misappropriation, which has not only affected NICB but also impacted its depositors. Reacting to ED's action, Bhanu's lawyer Sajjal Yadav told HT on Friday, 'My clients are not aware of the ED action. The funds received by Bhanu in his overseas companies were in the routine course of his business and have no nexus with banking operations or theft of ₹122 crore from the bank. Hiten Mehta, in connivance with auditors, has physically stolen cash from the bank that was not even noticed by the RBI nominated members on the board of the bank over the last few years. The Bhanus have addressed multiple letters to the EOW to examine them on video - conferencing. No summons has been received from ED.' In a separate operation on Friday, ED conducted searches in Malegaon, Nashik, as part of a parallel investigation into a suspected large-scale scam involving delayed birth and death certificates. The probe is based on multiple FIRs registered across districts including Akola, Amravati, Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar, Latur, Nashik (Rural), and Parbhani. The scam involves the use of forged documents — such as tampered school leaving certificates, Aadhaar cards, and ration cards — to fraudulently obtain delayed registration of births or deaths. In Malegaon alone, two cases revealed that 3,127 such certificates were issued between August 2023 and December 2024, suggesting a widespread racket involving agents, document forgers, and beneficiaries. Based on intelligence inputs, ED examined bank accounts of suspects and agents linked to the alleged racket. The analysis indicated frequent UPI transfers and cash deposits believed to be bribe money. One key agent's account was reportedly used to collect bribes on behalf of a former Naib Tehsildar of Malegaon Tehsil. The bribe amounts were quickly dispersed to multiple individuals suspected to be part of the network. The police cases, mostly initiated on complaints by tehsildars, describe how applicants submitted fake documents and manipulated Aadhaar details to obtain fraudulent birth certificates. In some instances, individuals applied for multiple birth records with differing information, pointing to a systematic attempt to bypass verification protocols. Both investigations remain ongoing.
India Today
25-04-2025
- Business
- India Today
ED seizes assets worth Rs 1 crore in New India Bank fraud case
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) conducted a search operation on April 24 under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002 at seven premises in Mumbai and Gujarat in connection with the New India Co-op Bank fraud the raids, various incriminating documents, including property-related papers and assets worth around Rs1 crore, were recovered and ED's investigation was initiated based on the embezzlement of cash amounting to Rs 122 crore from the New India Co-operative Bank unearthed during the Risk Assessment of New India Cooperative Bank Ltd, conducted by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).advertisement The evidence was traced, and it revealed the diversion of bank funds, from those loan accounts which had turned into non-performing assets, to the overseas entities of Hiren Bhanu, the former Chairperson of the transactions have amounted to more than Rs 45 crore which were sent to foreign entities and are now being Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of Mumbai is also investigating the case under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).An investigation is underway to trace the funds diverted from the Bank to individual(s) or entities, resulting in fraud by the Bank as well as the depositors of the investigation is under Reel
Indian Express
25-04-2025
- Business
- Indian Express
Rs 122 crore New India co-op bank scam: Rs 45 crore diverted to bank's then chairman's overseas entities, says ED
The Enforcement Directorate (ED), which is carrying out a money laundering probe into the Rs 122-crore New India Co-operative Bank embezzlement case, said on Friday Rs 45 crore was diverted to the bank's former chairman Hiren Bhanu's overseas entities. The ED on Thursday conducted searches at seven premises in Mumbai and Gujarat as part of its probe. During the searches, incriminating documents, including property-related documents and valuables of around Rs 1 crore, were seized, the agency said. The documents revealed diversion of bank funds from those loan accounts which later turned NPA into Bhanu's overseas entities, ED sources said. 'Details and documents of such transactions amounting to more than Rs 45 crore sent to foreign entities related to Hiren Bhanu have been ascertained, which are being examined,' the ED stated in a statement on Friday. The ED began probing the case after embezzled cash amounting to Rs 122 crore of the New India Co-operative Bank was unearthed by the RBI. Mumbai Police EOW is already investigating fraud charges and arrested eight persons in the case, including alleged mastermind, the bank's former GM Hitesh Mehta. Hiren Bhanu and his wife Gauri, who is the bank's vice-chairperson, are also wanted in the case and have been declared proclaimed offenders by a Mumbai court. EOW also did a brain-mapping test of Mehta. 'The results of the test indicate his role and the role of other accused such as Hiren Bhanu, bank's former CEO Abhimanyu Bhoan, Mehta's friends Arunachalam Ullahanathan Maruthuvar, Dharmesh Paun and others in the scam,' a senior EOW officer said. The results of the brain-mapping test, however, cannot be used as direct evidence against Mehta and the other accused. It can be only used to further the investigation. 'My clients are not aware of the ED action. The funds received by Bhanu in his overseas companies were in his routine course of business and have no nexus with banking operations or theft of Rs 122 crore from the bank. Hiten Mehta in connivance with auditors has physically stolen cash from bank that was not even noticed by RBI-nominated members on the board of the bank since last few years. Bhanus have addressed multiple letters to EOW to examine them on VC (video conferencing), to which EOW has not responded. No summons have been received from ED,' lawyer for Hiren Bhanu and his wife Gauri stated. Mehta allegedly embezzled money from the bank's safe from 2019 to 2025 and handed it over to Paun and Maruthuvar. Police said after the fraud was uncovered during an RBI inspection at the bank's Prabhadevi and Goregaon branches on February 12, Mehta confessed to the crime and revealed the roles of the other accused. The other accused arrested are Bhoan, Maruthuvar's son Manohar and Kapil Dedhia. EOW has already initiated the process of attaching 21 immovable properties worth approximately Rs 168 crore belonging to five key accused in the case. EOW is also conducting a preliminary enquiry (PE) into allegations of NPAs worth over ₹400 crore. The complaint claims the bank continued disbursing loans to defaulting accounts despite repeated non-payments.
