The case pertains to the misappropriation of public deposits to the tune of more than Rs.800 crore
On Tuesday, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) attached properties worth Rs.114.19 crore belonging to various defaulter borrowers of Bengaluru-based Sri Guru Raghavendra Sahakara Bank Niyamitha (SGRSBN). The case pertains to the misappropriation of more than Rs.800 crore of public deposits.
The ED official said that the attached assets were in the form of 21 immovable properties consisting of vacant land, residential houses, commercial and industrial buildings, and movable properties in the form of a bank balance of Rs.3.15 crore.
Earlier, the ED attached movable and immovable properties belonging to the accused persons valued at Rs.45.33 crore and this was confirmed by the competent authority. The ED has also arrested four persons in the case including the bank’s then-president.
The ED initiated an investigation under the PMLA in 2020 based on an FIR registered under various sections of the IPC and the Karnataka Protection of Interest of Depositors in Financial Establishments Act by the Bengaluru Police against various defaulter borrowers of the bank.
“During the investigation under PMLA, it is revealed that the defaulter borrowers in connivance with the management and employees of the bank had taken huge loans from the bank based on bogus deposits and fake Fixed Deposits and siphoned off the money deposited by the public with the bank,” the official said.
The bank promised to give the depositors a higher interest rate, which was not in line with the prevailing market rate. Most of the bank’s depositors are senior citizens who have deposited their retirement funds with the bank for their financial security in their dotage which was advanced to various persons by the bank without obtaining proper security for the loans.
The borrowers who have taken the loans without adequate security did not repay the same and the loans have become overdue. The bank management created fictitious loan accounts and transferred the money to these accounts which in turn was transferred to overdue loan accounts for evergreening purposes to show the strong financial health of the bank to lure more depositors.
[With Inputs from IANS]
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