ED arrests former NCP lawmaker, 3 money laundering employees

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has arrested an NCP politician and three of his employees in connection with a money laundering investigation into an alleged fraud of over 71 billion rupees in a cooperative bank they sponsored in Pune, the agency said.

The arrest list includes the lead defendant Anil Shivajirao Bhosale, a former Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) MLC and lead promoter director of Shivajirao Bhosale Cooperative Bank in Pune, another director Suryaji Pandurang Jadhav, chairman Tanaji Dattu Padwal and a person, who was identified as Shailesh Bhosale.

They were arrested under the Anti-Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in Yerawada Prison in Pune on March 6, where they were held in judicial custody for fraud. The case is also being investigated by local police, said the Enforcement Directorate (ED).

“The defendants were brought before a PMLA court in Mumbai to seek custody of ED.

The ED raided the case in and around Pune in January after filing an FIR against them against Anil Shivajirao Bhosale and others.

The agency quoted FIR police as saying the alleged irregularities at the bank came to the fore after an audit by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) was conducted on its premises in April 2019.

“RBI has discovered various inconsistencies in the bank’s records and accounts. According to the instructions from RBI to the bank’s auditor to review the cash records, it was found that the entry of cash totaled 71.78 billion at the bank’s headquarters (in Pune ) in their cash book, “said the ED.

“It was found that Anil Shivajirao Bhosale, the director of Shivajirao Bhosale Co-op Bank Ltd., abused his position and conspired with the co-defendants and withdrew the amount from the bank and its branches for personal gain,” it said.

The agency said its investigation “won the approval of all of the accused in the bank auditor’s report on money laundering through fraud, fraud and public fundraising carried out at Shivajirao Bhosale Cooperative Bank Ltd..

“It was also revealed that the said deposits were sanctioned as loans to various companies and corporations in relation to their ability to repay, which resulted in most loan accounts becoming NPA (Non-Performing Assets), resulting in a loss for the said deposits Bank and corresponding profits for themselves, “it said.

With PTI inputs