New India Cooperative Bank’s GM arrested for siphoning off ₹122 crore

The accused, identified as Hitesh Mehta, 57, allegedly confessed to the crime and told the police he had been taking cash from the bank’s safes since the pandemic

Mumbai: The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Mumbai Police on Saturday arrested a senior accounts executive of New India Cooperative Bank for allegedly siphoning off around ₹122 crore in cash from the lender’s Prabhadevi and Goregaon branches, officials said.

Mumbai, India - Feb. 15, 2025:Hitesh Mehta, the general manager of New India Cooperative Bank, detained by EOW dept and brought to CP Office after medical, in Mumbai, India, on Saturday, February 15, 2025. (Photo by Anshuman Poyrekar/ Hindustan Times) (Hindustan Times)

The accused, identified as Hitesh Mehta, 57, allegedly confessed to the crime and told the police he had been taking cash from the bank’s safes since the pandemic. The alleged fraud was discovered on Wednesday when a Reserve Bank of India (RBI) team went for an audit to New India Cooperative Bank’s Prabhadevi head office, officials said.

“We have arrested Hitesh Pravinchand Mehta, 57, a resident of Dahisar who worked as General Manager, Accounts, with the bank,” said a police officer from the Dadar police station, where the EOW registered the case. “On the pretext of transferring the cash between the Prabhadevi and Goregaon branches, he took the cash home. He had joined the bank in 1987 and was going to retire in October. We will produce him before the holiday court on Sunday.”

Advocate Chandrakant Ambani, who is representing Mehta, said his client was innocent. “It is interesting how the fraud was not discovered till now, neither by the bank nor by auditors, as banks have several audits.”

The development comes two days after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) enforced a six-month transaction ban on the Mumbai-based bank due to alleged irregularities in its lending practices. On Friday, the central bank superseded the board of the cooperative bank for 12 months, even as scores of panic-stricken customers thronged its branches, desperate to recover their life savings.

The alleged fraud was discovered on Wednesday when an RBI team went for an audit to New India Cooperative Bank’s Prabhadevi head office, officials said.

“They asked all senior officers of the bank to be present at the time of the audit and called for the keys to the bank’s safe. Senior officials, including the accounts head, Hitesh Mehta, were present during the audit. He and his team are responsible for filing TDS (Tax Deducted at Source), GST (Goods and Services Tax) and maintaining cash,” said the officer quoted earlier.

After counting the money in the safe, the RBI team gathered all the employees and told them that ₹112 crore in cash was missing. “They started questioning employees about the missing cash. However, nobody could give any satisfactory answer. Later, it was found that cash was missing from the bank’s Goregaon branch as well. In total, ₹122 crore was missing from the bank’s safes,” added the officer.

The bank’s chief accounting officer, Devashish Ghosh, then started gathering information about how the cash might have gone missing. Later in the evening, Mehta went to meet the RBI officials and allegedly confessed to the crime.

“Immediately, the RBI officials called Rajeev Tiwari, head of human resources and administration, Ghosh, and Bhaskar Shetty, general manager (Recovery) of the bank. Mehta told them that he had embezzled ₹122 crore from the safes and given it to people he knew. He also said that he was doing the same from the pandemic period,” said the police officer, adding that the RBI officials took his statement in writing.

The RBI officials then directed New India Cooperative Bank to register an offence. “After an inquiry, a case was registered against Mehta and his unknown associates under sections 316 (5) — criminal breach of trust by public servant — and 61 (2) — criminal conspiracy — of the Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023,” said the police officer.

On Thursday, the RBI had issued a notification imposing several restrictions on New India Cooperative Bank. These included granting or renewing any loans, borrowing funds, accepting fresh deposits, and disbursing payments. In another statement on Friday, the RBI said it had taken over the bank’s operations, superseding its board of directors. The central bank appointed Shreekant (who goes by one name), the former chief general manager of the State Bank of India, as New India Cooperative Bank’s administrator for 12 months.