Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials on Friday attached immovable and movable properties worth ₹45.32 crore belonging to office-bearers of Sri Guru Raghavendra Sahakara Bank Niyamitha and Guru Sarvabhouma Credit Co-operative Limited and their associates in connection with a fraud case. The assets were attached under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.
The attached movable assets to the tune of ₹7.16 crore are in the form of bank balances and fixed deposits belonging to the president, ex-vice president, former CEO, the incumbent CEO and their associates of both the bank and the cooperative society.
The ED has also attached 29 immovable properties worth ₹38.16 crore in the form of agricultural land, residential apartments and houses in the name of K. Ramakrishna, late T.S. Sathyanarayana, former CEO late M.V. Maiya, Santosh Kumar A. and various other employees of the two entities.
K. Ramakrishna was president and late T.S. Sathyanarayana was vice president of the two entities.
“Between 2016-2019, crores of rupees were transferred from the society (Guru Sarvabhouma Credit Co-operative Ltd.) by the president and M.V. Maiya to the NPA accounts of the bank to reduce the NPA parameter,” said the ED in a statement.
It had initiated investigations based on an FIR registered by the Banaswadi police. A detailed probe found that M.V. Maiya and others had allegedly embezzled more than ₹1,500 crore from a large number of depositors, mostly senior citizens, by promising interest in the range of 12-16% per annum on fixed deposits.
The accused allegedly withdrew money from the bank by creating fictitious loan accounts and did not repay the money. Proceeds of the crime were found to be laundered in the name of many bank employees too.
The investigation found that K. Ramakrishna, along with his wife and son, who is one of the directors of Mukhyaprana Agro Farming and Research Info Pvt. Ltd. “layered the proceeds of crime in the name of the company and also in the name of Guru Sarvabhouma Credit Co-Operative Ltd. by diverting funds from Sri Guru Raghavendra Sahakara Bank Niyamitha”.
M.V. Maiya had purchased immovable properties by diverting funds from the bank and society. Employees of the bank and society created fictitious loan accounts and purchased properties in their names and in the name of their associates.
