Mumbai: A 41-year-old teacher of Indian origin in New Zealand has been arrested by the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) for a loan fraud in which 20 persons have already been arrested.
The teacher, Anil Maruti Gaikwad, took a loan for a car from State Bank of Bikaner in Jaipur (now merged with State Bank of India) by submitting fake documents and never bought the car. The fraud came to light during the bank merger. The other cases totalling to Rs1.6 crore also pertain to fake car loans.
Kalyan resident had moved to New Zealand in 2014
A resident of Kalyan, Gaikwad moved to New Zealand in 2014 and worked as a teacher before taking up citizenship there. He took a car loan of Rs10 lakh in 2011 from the bank’s Kalbadevi branch. However, he failed to pay even a single instalment. The police, however, could not arrest him as he had left the country.
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During the Covid-19 pandemic, he lost his job and started working as a driver. He came to India when a family member passed away. On knowing that an FIR was lodged against him for cheating the bank and that the police were looking out for him, he applied for anticipatory bail, which was rejected by the court, following which he surrendered.
The cases of fake car loans were spotted during the bank merger in December 2013 by Kalbadevi branch manager Brijesh Jain. On the basis of his complaint, the police registered cases under various sections of the Indian Penal Code.
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