EOW arrests Congress MLC and Chairman of Shivajirao Bhosale Co-op Bank based on FIR filed by Chartered Accountant appointed as RBI Auditor

MLC Anil Bhosale (right)
PUNE: The city police’s economic offences wing recently filed a chargesheet against Nationalist Congress Party’s sitting MLC Anil Bhosale and three other accused, pegging the total embezzlement
in the Shivajirao Bhosale cooperative bank at Rs494.45 crore as against the initial Rs71.78 crore mentioned in the FIR.
The police had arrested Bhosale (55), who is chairman and director of the bank, along with another director, Suryaji Pandurang Jadhav (69), chief executive officer Tanaji Dattu Padwal (50) and chief accountant Shailesh Sampatrao Bhosale (47) on February 25 on the basis of an FIR lodged by chartered accountant and RBI-assigned auditor Yogesh Lakade.
All four are lodged in the Yerawada central jail since a special MPID court on March 6 directed their remand in judicial custody.
On April 24, special judge S S Gosavi rejected the bail pleas of Anil Bhosale and Suryaji Jadhav, observing that the police haven’t been able to complete their investigation due to the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic and that many details and other suspects need to be investigated. The chargesheet has named 13 other directors who are under investigation and a forensic auditor’s report on the money trail is also awaited.
According to the chargesheet, the alleged fraud includes misuse of power to make money transfers and unauthorised withdrawals worth Rs101.52 crore and extending out-of-turn loans worth Rs392.92 crore.
“Almost 97% of the bank’s total loan accounts have been rendered non-performing assets,” the document stated.
The police have, so far, frozen 112 bank accounts belonging to the four accused, their relatives and individuals linked with the fraud.
Collectively, these accounts have a balance of Rs1.21 crore.
The police have also moved a proposal to the district collector for the attachment of Bhosale’s three pieces of land, totally admeasuring 5.52 hectare, at Karjat in Haveli taluka and an open plot at village Bholawade in Bhor taluka belonging to Suryaji Jadhav, under the MPID Act provision.
The chargesheet stated that as on March 31, 2020, the bank had 93,128 depositors and total deposits worth Rs432..85 crore. The amount of loans extended was 401.31 crore through 719 loan accounts.
The worth of non-performing assets was Rs392.92 crore and the number of NPA accounts was 432, it added.
Till date, only 1,731 depositors have been able to furnish their written complaints about the bank’s inabiity to refund their deposits despite repeated follow-ups and more were expected to make such complaints but could not due to the pandemic, the chargesheet stated.