The Mumbai Police’s Economic Offences Wing is investigating the alleged embezzlement of Rs 122 crore from New India Cooperative Bank. Former GM Hitesh Mehta reportedly instructed staff to hand over cash from bank safes
Pic/Ashish Raje
The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Mumbai Police is currently investigating an alleged embezzlement case involving Rs 122 crore at New India Cooperative Bank. According to PTI, the bank’s former general manager, Hitesh Mehta, would reportedly call two staff members and instruct them to withdraw large sums of cash from the bank's safes to be handed over to individuals sent by him.
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Police officials have stated that Mehta, along with real estate developer Dharmesh Paun, has been in custody since Sunday in connection with the fraudulent transactions. The financial irregularities came to light following an inspection conducted by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
According to the statements recorded by the EOW, Mehta, who had direct access to the bank’s safes, allegedly instructed staff members to release cash amounts of Rs 50 lakh at a time. These transactions were carried out multiple times and involved different individuals sent by Mehta.
“Mehta was the custodian of the bank’s safes, and the statements from two employees confirm that cash was handed over on his instructions. These bank staffers, who are now witnesses in the case, have admitted to releasing substantial amounts of money on multiple occasions,” an official told PTI.
The probe has revealed that a former employee of the bank had previously written to the RBI, raising concerns about the financial situation within the institution. Authorities are now verifying this information with the RBI to determine if any prior warnings were ignored.
PTI reports that rising non-performing assets (NPAs) had already indicated financial distress, with large sums being disbursed to ineligible borrowers. However, questions are now being raised as to why these discrepancies were not flagged earlier in bank audits.
Police officials have begun recording statements from individuals responsible for auditing the bank’s financials over the past two years. The investigation is also focusing on whether the misappropriation of funds took place gradually or in a single instance.
“As per the bank’s records, the available cash should have been Rs 138 crore. However, during an RBI inspection, it was discovered that Rs 122 crore was missing from two of the bank’s safes. The EOW is now investigating whether this amount was withdrawn in one go or siphoned off over time,” a police official stated.
(With inputs from PTI)
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