Hitesh Mehta, the former general manager of New India Coop Bank, allegedly instructed two staff members to hand over Rs 50 lakh at a time from the bank's safes to individuals he designated, according to police officials. Both Mehta and real estate developer Dharmesh Paun have been in custody since Sunday, following the discovery of an alleged embezzlement of Rs 122 crore from the bank, uncovered during an inspection by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
The Mumbai police's Economic Offences Wing (EOW) is investigating the case. An official stated, "Mehta had access to the bank's safes as he was the custodian. The statements of two bank staffers have been recorded. They have said how they used to give cash to those sent by Mehta. These bank staffers, who are witnesses in the case, have said they handed Rs 50 lakh cash more than once to several persons."
The investigation has revealed that a former employee of the bank alerted the RBI about the situation, which is currently being verified. Authorities were aware of the bank's deteriorating condition due to rising non-performing assets (NPAs) resulting from loans to ineligible persons, the official added.
The official further mentioned, "Considering the bank's situation in the last two years, we are probing why the misappropriation of funds was not pointed out in audits. We have started recording statements of those who conducted the audits. While cash as per the books was Rs 138 crore, an RBI inspection found Rs 122 crore of this missing from two safes of the bank. The EOW is verifying if the money went missing at one go."
The EOW has also recorded the statement of Abhijeet Deshmukh, a partner at the chartered accountancy firm responsible for auditing the bank, at the commissionerate in south Mumbai. Abhijit Deshmukh from Sanjay Rane and Associates, conducted audits for the bank from 2019 to 2021 and awarded it an 'A' grade.
The statement of the bank's former CEO, Abhimanyu Bhoan, was recorded on Wednesday, and he was called again on Thursday as part of the investigation.
Meanwhile, the accused Unnathan Arunachalam, also known as Arun Bhai, to whom Mehta allegedly gave Rs 50 crore, remains absconding, the official reported.