Mumbai: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has arrested Vivek Patil, Ex-MLA (Peasants and Workers Party) and founder-chairman of Maharashtra-based Karnala bank in the Rs 513 crore Karnala bank scam. The arrest was made on Tuesday night. Panvel-based Karnala Nagri Sahakari bank was put under withdrawal restrictions by RBI in December 2019 and around 40,000 depositors of the bank were allowed to withdraw Rs 5,000. Patil, along with 75 more, is accused of siphoning off Rs 513 crore to various trusts owned by Patil himself. This siphoning off was done on the pretext of granting loans.
In February 2020, an FIR was first filed by Panvel city police station. The FIR was filed against Vivek Patil and 75 more accused, out of which 12 were bank office bearers. The accused were booked for cheating, forgery, evidence destruction. Sections of The Maharashtra Protection of Interest of Depositors Act and Maharashtra Cooperative Society Act were also applied in the FIR. Later the case was handed over to state CID. Now ED is investigating the case. As per the agency, fraud was done in the name of granting loans. Loans were granted without any mortgage/security properties, business loans were given to people without any business, some of the loan amounts were first transferred to accounts without the knowledge of account holders and later that amount was siphoned off to Patil’s trusts.
Before Karnala Sahakari Nagri bank, the bank scam which hit Maharashtra was Punjab and Maharashtra Cooperative bank. Withdrawal restrictions were put on PMC bank was in September 2019 and since then many depositors are fighting to get access to their own hard-earned money.
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