Latest news with #Vasai-based
Time of India
2 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
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. "
Hindustan Times
3 days ago
- Business
- Hindustan Times
Home department goes after credit society directors to recover defrauded funds
Mumbai: The state home department has ordered the attachment of properties of 18 persons accused in a ₹33.95-crore scam in Jaimuni Cooperative Patpedhi Limited, a Vasai-based credit society. Apartments, land parcels and commercial properties owned by the accused – including developers, businessmen and directors and office-bearers of the credit society – will be auctioned to recover the deposits of account holders in the credit society, as per the notification issued by the home department last week. The notification was issued under sections 4(1) and 5(1) of the Maharashtra Protection of Interest of Depositors (MPID) Act, 1999, which authorise the government to recover the amount defrauded from depositors by selling properties of the accused including directors and employees of financial institutions. The notification was issued after the economic offences wing of the Mira-Bhayandar Vasai-Virar police and the Palghar collector submitted reports on properties of the accused to the home department. The reports were submitted following directions from the special MPID court in Palghar which is hearing the case. Properties that will be attached include 17 flats and two houses of Jaywant Naik, the main accused; 6.11 acres of land belonging to developer Avinash Dhole; and an apartment owned by businessman Mintu Shah. The list also includes residential apartments of the credit society's former chief executive officer Rajesh Rawal; former chairman Vasant Naik and his son Swapnil Naik; deputy chairman Nitin Patil; directors Krishna Naik, Kumar Naik, Pratibha Naik, Surendra Raut, Vasant Joshi, Hemlata Naik, Manohar Patil and Vijay Baswant; and employee Manisha Mhatre. The properties will be attached and auctioned by the sub-divisional officer of Palghar, who has been appointed as competent authority in the case, said a senior official from the home department. 'The valuation of the properties has been done by the Collector's office,' the official said. The money recovered from the auction will be distributed among 408 depositors who cumulatively lost ₹33.95 crore, in keeping with their investments, the official noted. 'The home department is also planning to amend the MPID Act to hike the penalty and imprisonment for the accused from the existing ₹1 lakh fine and/ or six years of imprisonment,' he said. The scam came to light in June 2018 after depositors filed complaints regarding Jaimuni Cooperative Patpedhi Limited not returning their deposits. The credit society's financial troubles began after some directors approved loans to purchase 159 flats in buildings owned by Avinash Dhole and other builders. While many of the flats had already been mortgaged by their original buyers, fresh loans were advanced in the name of local vegetable vendors via collusion between Dhole, Jaywant Naik and Mintu Shah, who produced forged documents, and Vasant Naik, Nitin Patil and Rajesh Rawal, who approved the loans. Rajesh Naik, director of the reconstituted board of Jaimuni Cooperative Patpedhi Limited, said some former directors of the society were directly involved in the scam while others were guilty of omission of duty and did not secure any financial benefits. 'Our management analysed 3,800 transactions to establish the money trail which helped the investigating agency frame charges,' said Naik. The reconstituted credit society has been allotted A grade in its audit.
