ED files PMLA complaint over alleged Rs 122 crore embezzlement at New India Co-op Bank
The ED has filed a prosecution complaint against eight accused in a Mumbai PMLA court, alleging embezzlement of about Rs 122 crore from New India Co-operative Bank.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has filed a prosecution complaint against eight accused before the Special Court (PMLA) in Mumbai in a case involving the alleged embezzlement of about Rs 122 crore from New India Co-operative Bank Limited (NICBL). The court has ordered pre-cognizance notices to the accused, giving them a hearing before it decides whether to formally take up the case.
What Happened
The ED began its money-laundering probe on the basis of an FIR registered by the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of Mumbai Police. According to the ED, a former General Manager and Head of Accounts of the bank played a key role in siphoning off bank funds by manipulating accounting systems and creating false records of cash transfers between branches. The ED said this person admitted withdrawing funds over a long period.
The ED alleges that these activities were also carried out at the behest of another accused, described as a former chairman and vice-chairman who controlled the bank's operations for several years. Per the ED, about Rs 26 crore to Rs 30 crore of the alleged proceeds of crime went to the bank's former or acting chairman and vice-chairman at the relevant time.
The ED has also alleged that a third accused acted in connivance with some NICBL borrowers to acquire a business outside India without paying for it, and arranged to receive funds in the accounts of foreign companies through borrowers who had been sanctioned large loans by the bank.
Earlier, the ED provisionally attached 33 properties, including deposits, flats and land, worth about Rs 16.95 crore. The Adjudicating Authority under the PMLA has confirmed that attachment. The EOW has already filed charge sheets. The ED said the accused are currently outside India and have not cooperated with the investigation.
These are allegations, not findings of guilt; the accused are presumed innocent until proven guilty in court, and due process continues.
What It Means
For NICBL depositors, the money-laundering case is now before a special court. The ED said it is still tracing funds diverted from the bank, which it says resulted in a fraud on the bank and its depositors. Properties worth about Rs 16.95 crore remain under confirmed attachment.
This report describes enforcement actions and allegations on the public record, attributed to the officials cited. An order, FIR or chargesheet is not a conviction; parties are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
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Sources & Citations
- Enforcement Directorate press release — Enforcement Directorate