Mumbai: The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of Mumbai Police is set to track down a former employee, Who wrote letter to RBI on January 2020 of New India Co-operative Bank in connection with alleged financial irregularities, a senior EOW officer confirmed.
The bank’s internal auditors will also be questioned as part of the investigation. The case stems from a 2020 complaint filed with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) by the former employee, highlighting alleged mismanagement within the bank.
Additionally, EOW officials have announced that summons will be issued to members of the bank’s board of directors. On Tuesday, the EOW interrogated chartered accountant Abhijit Deshmukh.
According to the investigating officer, a significant amount of cash was deposited across multiple branches of New India Bank. However, during an inspection conducted by RBI at the Prabhadevi branch on February 13, discrepancies were discovered.
While bank audit reports showed a balance of approximately ₹135-138 crore, RBI officials reportedly found only ₹112 crore, with ₹10 crore missing from the Prabhadevi and Goregaon branches. This has also raised concerns about RBI's delayed response in detecting the fraud.
The EOW has already arrested former bank accounts head Hitesh Mehta and developer Dharmesh Paun. Another accused, who allegedly received ₹40 crore, remains at large, and a lookout circular (LOC) has been issued against him.
Investigators have so far confirmed that Mehta admitted to receiving ₹12 crore. Authorities are now considering conducting a lie detector test on the bank’s former general manager as part of the probe. The financial fraud has affected nearly two lakh account holders, and the EOW continues its investigation to uncover further irregularities.
