2 days ago
Properties of 18 accused to be auctioned in Vasai-based Jaimuni Cooperative Patpedhi Ltd's Rs 34-crore loan scam
Mumbai: The competent authority under the Maharashtra Protection of Interest of Depositors (MPID) Act will auction flats, plots, commercial units of 18 persons accused in a Rs 34-crore scam where Vasai-based Jaimuni Cooperative Patpedhi Ltd failed to return deposits collected from the public.
The money generated through auction will be used to repay the investors.
The scam involved fraudulent loan disbursal to purchase flats that were already mortgaged, with forged documents and collusion between bank officials and builders. Accordingly an FIR was filed at Arnala police station in Oct 2018 for cheating, criminal breach of trust and forgery. Later, the probe was handed over to the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) as the defrauded amount was around Rs 34 crore.
A senior EOW officer said the process of filing the FIR, arresting the accused, and investigating the case is complete and the properties of the accused have also been identified and are now officially with govt. Under Sections 4(1) and 5(1) of the MPID Act 1999, govt has the powers to seize and auction properties of the accused who have defrauded depositors.
Shekhar Ghadge, the sub-divisional officer who has been appointed as the competent authority by state govt, said: "Our first step is to approach the MPID court and further process these properties after which they will be ready for auction."
After the auction, the process of distribution of funds among investors shall begin, he added.
Satyawan Patil, former director of Jaimuni Cooperative Patpedhi Ltd, said: "This loan scam put depositors' hard-earned money at risk. The biggest loss caused by this scam is that it hampered the reputation of the credit society. I see that justice is being served and on behalf of my colleagues... I welcome this development. This will boost the trust of depositors in the law, which, in turn, is advantageous for the credit society's future.
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