Co-op bank acting CEO appears before EOW

Devarshi Ghosh appeared before the EOW to furnish information about loans advanced by the bank in the recent past.

MUMBAI: The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Mumbai Police has widened its investigation into the alleged misappropriation of ₹122 crore from the cash reserves of New India Cooperative Bank, after receiving a complaint about the alleged disbursal of loans worth crores of rupees to ineligible borrowers.

Thane, India - February 14, 2025: Panic spreads among account holders at New India Co-op Bank Thane Vasant Vihar branch after RBI restrictions, Account holders are seen crowding outside Thane branch at vasant vihaar in thane to remove valuables from their lockers ,in Thane,in Mumbai, India, on, Friday, February -14, 2024. ( Praful Gangurde /HT Photo )

Accordingly, the acting chief executive officer (CEO) of the scheduled bank on Tuesday appeared before the EOW to furnish information about loans advanced by the bank in the recent past.

The EOW is investigating allegations of alleged misappropriation of ₹122 crore from the bank’s cash reserves by its executives, the main accused being the bank’s general manager (accounts), Hitesh Mehta.

After receiving a complaint about alleged irregularities in the disbursal of loans, the agency had asked the bank’s acting CEO Devarshi Ghosh to provide details relating to non-performing assets (NPAs) after it had initiated a preliminary enquiry. The complaint has been lodged by Dadar resident, Sachidanand Shetty.

“We had called the acting CEO Devarshi Ghosh with all the details of the NPAs with the New India Cooperative Bank. Ghosh is the complainant in the first case, in which it is alleged that the bank’s general manager, Hitesh Mehta, had siphoned off around ₹122 crore from the banks vault,” said a police officer with the EOW.

“We had received a written complaint from Shetty, who alleged that Hiren Bhanu, former chairman of the bank, had filled the board with his cronies to gain full control over the bank. With the help of the then CEO, he allegedly extended loans worth ₹400 crore to people who allegedly gave him kickbacks, and most of these loans have become NPAs,” said the police officer.

Shetty further alleged that after Bhanu was barred by the RBI, he appointed his wife Gauri as vice-chairman of the bank. Once the loans became NPAs, loans were extended further to conceal the NPAs. The money was allegedly transferred to the United Kingdom or the United Arab Emirates, where Bhanu has real-estate firms, the officer revealed.

Bhanu, through his counsel, advocate Sajjal Yadav has denied all the allegations and claims he is innocent. According to him, Hitesh Mehta was the main culprit who misappropriated money from the bank’s cash reserves.

Meanwhile, additional chief judicial magistrate RB Thakur of the Esplanade metropolitan magistrate’s court has rejected the bail application of builder Dharmesh Paun arrested in connection with the case. Paun had citied health grounds to secure bail, which was rejected by the court. According to the EOW, Paun received more than ₹40 crore of the ₹122 crore, which he has used in his real-estate projects.

After the initial FIR was registered on February 12, the EOW has arrested eight people in the case. The bank’s general manager (accounts), Hitesh Mehta, was the first to be arrested. Mehta handled the vault and is the main accused. Following his arrest, real estate developer Dharmesh Paun was apprehended and later the bank’s then CEO Abhimanyu Bhoan, businessman Arunachalam Ullahanathan Maruthuvar, the latter’s son Manohar Maruthuvar, Mehta’s neighbour Kapil Dedhia, and businessmen Javed Azam and Rajeev Ranjan Pandey. Hiren and Gauri Bhanu are wanted accused in the case.