Mumbai: Mumbai Police’s Economic Offences Wing (EOW) has filed a massive 8,990-page chargesheet in connection with the alleged ₹78 crore embezzlement at the United Services (US) Club in Colaba. The case was registered in February last year, and the chargesheet has been filed nearly a year after an extensive financial probe.
The chargesheet names former Deputy Finance Secretary of the club, Bernardetta Verma, her husband Bharat Verma, chartered accountant Chandraprakash Pandey, and Awdesh Das of Jyotirgamaya Foundation as accused. More than 28 witnesses have been cited in the case.
According to investigators, Verma, along with her husband and the club’s auditor, allegedly conspired to siphon off ₹77.32 crore by creating fake vendor accounts and forging financial transactions over several years.
The EOW’s banking unit found that the accused opened seven fraudulent bank accounts in the names of existing and former vendors linked to the club. Funds meant for legitimate payments were diverted into these accounts.
Police said the accused manipulated the club’s computerised vendor records by adding the digit ‘1’ to vendor names to create fake entries. For instance, “Rama Enterprises” was changed to “Rama Enterprises1,” allowing payments to be redirected without raising suspicion.
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As per the FIR, the diverted funds were distributed as follows
Rama Enterprises – ₹13.48 crore
Samruddhi Decorator – ₹14.56 crore
Shivam Enterprises – ₹5.65 crore
Supreme Caterers – ₹27.79 crore
Constructive Enterprises – ₹15.56 crore
Ratna Hanuk Padrayi – ₹24.90 lakh
Ravindra Gopal Chavan – ₹20.98 lakh
Additionally, around ₹11 crore was allegedly transferred to the Jyotirgamaya Foundation in Thane. The fake accounts were opened across multiple locations, including four in Borivali, one in Mira Road, and one in Cuffe Parade.
The fraud came to light following a complaint lodged by the Indian Navy, which oversees the defence-run club. The Navy alleged that Verma abused her position of trust and carried out systematic financial manipulation over time. Police said one of the accused remains absconding, and further investigation is underway to trace additional money trails and possible beneficiaries.
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