Bank scam: Cops to call former mla for questioning

The Navi Mumbai crime branch probing the ₹513-crore Karnala Nagari Bank scam will soon call former member of legislative assembly (MLA) Vivekanand Patil and others

The Navi Mumbai crime branch probing the ₹513-crore Karnala Nagari Bank scam will soon call former member of legislative assembly (MLA) Vivekanand Patil and others for questioning. The crime branch officers have begun their probe after the audit report found out the scam and named Patil and bank officials.

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Patil is the founder of Karnala Nagari Cooperative Bank, that came under the Reserve Bank of India scanner last year after finding 58 suspicious accounts.

The commissioner for Cooperation and Registrar, Cooperative Societies (CC and RCS) then instituted an audit under a special district auditor.

Sources privy with the contents of the audit report said the persons who were granted loans claimed they did not receive any money and it was directly transferred into a trust fund and another institution managed by Patil.

Patil’s trust fund Karnala Charitable Trust and Karnala Sports Academy are also under the crime branch scrutiny. A senior police officer said a team of officers are assessing the documents and deciding the line of investigation.

Officials are likely to call Patil for questioning. The police source added that the probe will reveal the extent of involvement of the persons under whose names the loans were disbursed.

“We have started our investigations. It will be to early to comment on the developments,” said Satish Govekar, assistant commissioner of police, crime branch, heading the probe.