2 ED staffers held for helping Amar Mulchandani’s associate | Mumbai news - Hindustan Times
close_game
close_game

2 ED staffers held for helping Amar Mulchandani’s associate

Mar 25, 2023 12:25 AM IST

Mumbai: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday arrested two of its staff members for helping an associate of Amar Mulchandani, former chairman of Seva Vikas Co-operative (SVC) Bank, who was arrested in a multi-crore fraud earlier in January

Mumbai: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday arrested two of its staff members for helping an associate of Amar Mulchandani, former chairman of Seva Vikas Co-operative (SVC) Bank, who was arrested in a multi-crore fraud earlier in January.

The agency claimed that in two of the loans taken by Aranha from the SVC Bank, they had mortgaged the property, which was already sold, and the loan account was declared as a non-performing asset (NPA). It was alleged that the test audit, conducted by Rajesh Jadhawar, joint registrar, co-operation department of the bank, revealed a misappropriation of <span class='webrupee'>₹</span>429.57 crore, involving 124 NPA loan accounts of SVC Bank. (Image for representation)
The agency claimed that in two of the loans taken by Aranha from the SVC Bank, they had mortgaged the property, which was already sold, and the loan account was declared as a non-performing asset (NPA). It was alleged that the test audit, conducted by Rajesh Jadhawar, joint registrar, co-operation department of the bank, revealed a misappropriation of 429.57 crore, involving 124 NPA loan accounts of SVC Bank. (Image for representation)

Apart from the ED staffers, Yogesh Wagule and Vishal Kudekar, the agency has also arrested Mulchandani’s associate Bablu Sonkar. As per the agency, Wagule and Kudekar were allegedly in touch with Sonkar and had accepted 13,000 from him.

Hindustan Times - your fastest source for breaking news! Read now.

A special PMLA court remanded the trio to ED custody till March 28.

Seeking their custody remand, ED’s counsel Kavita Patil contended that the bribe was paid to “purchase secret office documents of ED to keep a close watch on the ED’s findings and also to keep a watch on the witnesses who are being summoned as well as to know what was being unearthed from them.”

Patil said that Sonkar had also paid a bribe of 40,000 to ED’s employee Rohit Bari, who was the driver on duty at the time of the arrest of Vinay Aranha of Rosary Education Group from Pune. Aranha was arrested for money laundering after he defaulted on loans taken from various banks, including SVC Bank.

The agency claimed that in two of the loans taken by Aranha from the SVC Bank, they had mortgaged the property, which was already sold, and the loan account was declared as a non-performing asset (NPA). It was alleged that the test audit, conducted by Rajesh Jadhawar, joint registrar, co-operation department of the bank, revealed a misappropriation of 429.57 crore, involving 124 NPA loan accounts of SVC Bank. The misappropriation accounted for 92% of the loans of the bank.

The ED has claimed that the Board of Directors headed by Mulchandani, in connivance with his family members, who were directors of the bank along with some borrowers had made favoured sanctions of loans which were bound to default in repayment of loans.

The agency claimed that ever since the beginning Sonkar was accompanying Mulchandani and his family members whenever they were summoned by ED. “Sonkar was often found roaming around in the ED office and appeared to be involved in suspicious activities. When enquired, he stated that he has been deputed by Mulchandani to spy on the ED officials/staff members to get the documents/information regarding the investigation,” the agency added.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
Share this article
SHARE
Story Saved
Live Score
OPEN APP
Saved Articles
Following
My Reads
Sign out
New Delhi 0C
Friday, March 29, 2024
Start 14 Days Free Trial Subscribe Now
Follow Us On