Bengaluru, April 8 The Enforcement Directorate (ED) conducted raids at more than eight locations in Shivamogga and Bengaluru in Karnataka in connection with the fake gold loan case, sources said on Tuesday.
The case involves the disbursal of over Rs 62 crore in loans by accepting fake gold jewellery as collateral at the Shivamogga District Cooperative Central (DCC) Bank.
The sources said that ED officials raided the residences of a former woman manager of the Shivamogga DCC Bank and the former bank president's driver.
The raids were also carried out at the residence and office of the current manager of the Shivamogga DCC Bank.
The sources also confirmed that ED sleuths carried out raids in Bengaluru and questioned the former President of the DCC Bank, who held the position when the scam occurred.
The former President was also questioned at the Apex Bank Guest House by over ten ED officers.
Simultaneous raids were underway at other locations in Bengaluru, the sources added.
The official statement from the ED was yet to come regarding the raids.
The scam was unearthed in July 2014, after the bank's general manager lodged a complaint with the police.
The Doddapet Police in Shivamogga arrested the prime accused, R. N. Manjunath Gowda, the former Shivamogga DCC Bank President, in connection with the scam.
The investigations revealed that the accused disbursed loans against fake gold, and in some cases, with no gold mortgaged against the loan.
The sources revealed that Manjunath Gowda is a close confidant of Deputy Chief Minister D. K. Shivakumar.
Gowda and six other administrative board members were disqualified in 2006 from their posts on charges of financial irregularities.
Further, it was revealed that between 2004 and 2014, gold loans totalling Rs 62 crore were disbursed. In this period, Rs 5.5 crore loans were given against actual gold in 144 cases, Rs 40.57 crore loans against fake gold in 185 cases, and Rs 17.13 crore loans against no mortgage.
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