The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has obtained permission to record the statements of eight accused individuals in prison, who were arrested by the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) in connection with the Rs122 crore fraud involving the New India Cooperative Bank.
In April, the ED had launched a probe for money laundering into the alleged fraud at the New India Cooperative Bank. In its ongoing probe, the agency sought permission to record the statements of eight accused, who are currently in custody and lodged at Arthur Road prison.
The accused include Hitesh Mehta, Dharmesh Jayantilal Poun, Abhimanyu Bhoan, Manohar Marutwar, Kapil Dedhiya, Ulahanathan Marutwar, Javed Ajam and Rajivranjan Pande alias Pawan Gupta.
The court has granted the ED's plea, allowing it to record the statements of the accused between June 16 and July 10. The prison superintendent has been directed to allow the ED officers to enter the prison with the necessary equipment for recording the statements.
According to the EOW's case, a surprise check by Reserve Bank of India (RBI) officials revealed several irregularities in the bank's accounts. Additionally, the safes, which had a permissible cash limit of Rs20 crore, were found to contain more than Rs100 crore at times, allegedly siphoned by senior bank executives.
Further investigations uncovered large-scale irregularities in loan approvals, with many loans granted to ineligible borrowers and later sold to Asset Reconstruction Companies (ARCs) at throwaway prices, causing massive losses to the bank.
A preliminary inquiry identified 2,000 suspicious loans and non-performing assets (NPAs) worth Rs400 crore, allegedly granted by three top bank executives in exchange for kickbacks.
