ED attaches Rs 122-cr assets of Pune businessmen others in Bank loan fraud

Assets worth more than Rs 122 crore of various accused, including that of a former chairman of Pune-based Seva Vikas co-operative Bank and promoter of an education group, have been attached as part of money laundering investigation linked to an alleged bank loan fraud, Enforcement Directorate (ED) said.

A provisional order for attaching 47 immovable properties worth Rs 121.81 crore located in Pune in Maharashtra and movable assets of Rs 54.25 lakh (belonging to Devi Concrete Products) has been issued under the criminal sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

The properties belong to Amar Mulchandani, former chairman of Seva Vikas co-operative Bank, Vivek Aranha, promoter of Pune-based Rosary Education group, Sagar Suryawanshi, Khemchand Bhojwani and their family members and linked entities. Subsequently, joint registrar (audit) did an audit of the entire Seva Vikas co-op bank and found gross fraud and misappropriation of Rs 429.6 crore across 124 NPA (non performing assets) loan accounts.

RBI had cancelled the license of the bank and the ED is probing the entire bank fraud in which small deposits of thousands of innocent depositors have been siphoned off by illegal loans sanctioned by the management of the bank.  The agency alleged Amar Mulchandani treated public deposits in the bank like his personal fiefdom and he violated all prudent banking norms to illegally sanction loans to his favoured borrowers in arbitrary manner, without checking their creditworthiness and without adequate collateral securities. He did this, the ED said, after taking bribes at the rate of 20 per cent commission of the sanctioned loan amount.