Sports scam: E-banking violations

Lokmat News Network

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar

The Rs 21.59 crore scam at the Regional Sports Complex has implicated a senior clerk from the sports department and two bank employees for alleged e-banking violations.

The Economic Offenses Wing (EOW) arrested sports department clerk Swapnil Tangde (33, Prathameshnagar, Satara), former bank officer Sachin Waghmare (37, Sansari Square, Deolali, Nashik), and bank clerk Nitin Lakhole (36, Bhavaninagar, Old Monda) on Saturday. Harshkumar Kshirsagar, the scam’s mastermind, was also presented in court alongside the accused. Prosecutor Sameer Bedre and PSI Ashok Avchar argued that Rs 5 crore remains unaccounted for. They emphasized the need to investigate how the accused violated rules to approve e-banking and whether financial transactions occurred between Harshkumar and the accused. The court remanded all four to police custody until January 14.

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Accusations and lapses

Swapnil Tangade: Tangde, an accomplished fencer and Shivchhatrapati awardee, had secured a job in the sports department. His duties included managing the cashbook, transactions, and bank dealings. Despite his responsibilities, Tangde handed over the bank account to Harshkumar and failed to verify the work he was doing.

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Nitin Lakhole: Lakhole, a clerk at the bank, first received an email for e-banking, which was forged and unauthorized. Despite rejecting the request twice, he allowed the third attempt and forwarded it to his superiors.

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Sachin Waghmare: Waghmare received the e-banking proposal from Nitin. Although rules required filling out forms, obtaining approval from authorized persons, and confirming details, Sachin bypassed these procedures and approved the request.

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Harshkumar’s unauthorized role

Though not authorized, Harshkumar managed multimillion-dollar transactions and cashbook records without objections from the department or the bank.

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Assets Seized

Police have traced Rs 16.42 crore in assets linked to Harshkumar. Additionally, his associate Bahure, currently absconding, is suspected of holding Rs 30 lahks in cash and gold jewellery. Investigations continue into this high-profile scam.