Seven of gang arrested for duping bank, customers of crores
Seven persons, including a former bank employee, were arrested by the Mumbai crime branch for defrauding banks of crores of rupees through loan fraud. The gang used forged documents and fake businesses to secure loans, and the leader of the gang had previously been arrested for purchasing high-end cars on loans and mortgaging them. The police suspect the involvement of several bank employees in the fraud.
MUMBAI: The crime branch officials on Saturday arrested seven persons who allegedly defrauded several banks of crores of rupees. The police said the leader of the gang was a former member of the sales team of a renowned private bank knew the loan process well and even used his contacts to dupe the banks. In 2021, he was arrested for purchasing high-end cars on loans and later mortgaging them.
The police officials said the gang secured loans using forged documents like ITR, and salary slips, showed fake business and promised loans to people.
In a joint operation, Unit 3 of the crime branch and its Crime Intelligence Unit (CIU) arrested Pradeep Maurya, 49, a resident of Bhandup West and his associates Abdul Ahad Izarul Shaikh, 44, a Wadala resident, Kadar Ahmed Parmar, 43, a resident of Kurla West, Jagdish Jamsandekar, 53, resident of Palghar, Meenakshi Shridhankar, 35, resident of Bhandup, Sushma alias Shilpa Mohite, 40, who stays in Palghar, and Manju Gaikwad, 39, from Mulund West.
The police said Maurya, the leader of the gang, was arrested in 2021 when the police seized 19 high-end cars like Audi, Mercedes, Mini Cooper and MG Hector from him. Police officials said he had purchased the cars by availing vehicle loans from banks and later mortgaged the vehicles by taking sizable amounts from unsuspecting people.
“After he came out on bail he started a new business,” said a crime branch officer. “As he is very well versed with banking processes, as he has worked with banks and has contacts inside banks, he initially through the other accused approached people who required loans or credit cards and used their documents to obtain huge loans by enhancing their card limits by showing them in businesses. He has even rented shops, and industrial units, and shown his other accused as employees to get loans in the name of the needy people. He has forged ITR, salary slips, agreement copies and shown more income to get loans and later withdrawn the money,” the officer added.
The accused used to manipulate CIBIL score of individuals and enhance it to secure maximum loan amounts in the name of unsuspecting people and either used to take away the entire loan amounts or commission, if not the entire amount. He had shown businesses like units and garment factories to get loans in other people’s names and later withdrew the full amounts and cheated banks as well as the complainants.
“Maurya has recently purchased a ₹1.5 crore flat in Bhandup. We suspect the role of several employees associated with various banks and are inquiring from that angle as well. This, though, appears to be just the tip of the iceberg,” said the officer. He added that the accused were produced before a local holiday court and have been remanded in police custody.
The complainants were later approached by banks to pay the loan and credit card money and only then did they realise that there were so many loans in their names. The police said most of the victims were from Bhandup and nearby areas.
The police suspect the loan fraud to run in crores and involvement of several bank employees and have zeroed in on at least one so far. “The accused are booked under section 419 (personation for the purpose of cheating), 420 (cheating), 465 (forgery), 120 B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code,” said the police officer.
