E-Paper
PMC Bank fraud: Rakesh and Sarang Wadhawan’s interim bail cancelled
In March, the Wadhawans had obtained interim bail from the magistrate court on the ground of coronavirus disease (Covid-19) outbreak.
A metropolitan magistrate at Mumbai’s Esplanade court on Tuesday allowed the plea of the Economic Offence Wing (EOW) of Mumbai Police for cancellation of interim bail to HDIL promoter Rakesh Wadhawan and his son Sarang, who are accused in the multi-crore Punjab & Maharashtra Cooperative (PMC) Bank fraud case.
In March, the Wadhawans had obtained interim bail from the magistrate court on the ground of coronavirus disease (Covid-19) outbreak.
Soon after the order, EOW sought a stay on the order and moved for cancellation of the bail. The court had immediately stayed order till further direction.
Special public prosecutor Ajay Missar said, the court after hearing the plea of the agency, cancelled the bail. The prosecution argued that while obtaining bail, the defence did not inform the agency. It also pointed out that as per the direction of the high-power committee, the accused booked for economic offences are not eligible for interim bail.
Rakesh and his son Sarang Wadhawan were arrested on October 3, 2019, by EOW authorities in connection with the PMC fraud case.
As per the prosecution, the PMC Bank granted loans to realty group HDIL without following the due process. The principal loan amount of ₹2,400 crore snowballed into ₹6,670 crore because HDIL failed to repay multiple loans between 2008 and 2019. Senior management of PMC Bank covered up these irregularities in a bid to avoid scrutiny by the Reserve Bank of India.
EOW in their charge sheet claimed that Rakesh is the key accused of the fraud as the ‘patriarch’ of the HDIL’s business. He gradually plotted the fraud and obtained loans from the bank with the help of other accused, the agency alleged.
