PMC Bank directors, auditors under lens in ₹4,355-cr fraud

Officers with the economic offences wing (EOW) of Mumbai Police said all directors of Punjab and Maharashtra Co-operative (PMC) Bank and auditors would be investigated

Officers with the economic offences wing (EOW) of Mumbai Police said all directors of Punjab and Maharashtra Co-operative (PMC) Bank and auditors would be investigated for possible involvement in the ₹4,355-crore fraud at the bank. The EOW revealed it will look into whether or not directors and auditors were aware of the financial irregularities carried out at PMC Bank and if there was any external influence or pressure to cover up the irregularities.

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Commissioner of police Sanjay Barve confirmed to HT that the bank’s directors would face inquiry. “The investigation is in process. Money would be recovered in order to ensure that the innocent depositors do not suffer for long and get their money back,” said Barve.

So far, the EOW’s special investigation team (SIT) has arrested the bank’s former chairperson Waryam Singh and former managing director Joy Thomas for unlawful loans to Housing Development infrastructure Limited (HDIL) and causing loss to the bank. HDIL accounted for 73% of the bank’s total loan book.

A senior officer said PMC Bank’s 12 directors and the auditors (internal as well as external) would be next to face legal action. “We will be probing if directors had knowledge of the alleged irregularities or if it was concealed from them. If they knew, why did they did not raise their voices? We would be checking if they were under pressure to turn a blind eye to the irregularities,” said an EOW officer who is part of the probe.

One of the directors is Rajneet Singh, son of Bharatiya Janata Party legislator, Sardar Tara Singh. The police have already issued a look-out circular (LOC) against all the directors. So far, agencies have seized and provisionally-attacahed assets worth ₹4,000 crore.