The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has attached assets worth ₹234 crore linked to former MLA Vivekanand Shankar Patil, who was the chairman of Karnala Nagari Sahakari Bank Limited, in connection with a bank fraud case.
The attached properties include the Karnala Sports Academy and several land parcels.
The ED probe is based on a First Information Report registered by the Economic Offences Wing of the Mumbai police in 2019, after the fraud came to light during an audit conducted at the instance of the Reserve Bank of India.
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The audit revealed that Mr. Patil, a four-time MLA, had allegedly been siphoning off funds from the bank through more than 60 fictitious loan accounts of the Karnala Charitable Trust and Karnala Sports Academy, which were founded and controlled by him. The bank’s management was also under his control.
The ED arrested Mr. Patil on June 15 and filed a charge-sheet against him on August 12. The agency alleged that about ₹560 crore was siphoned off since 2008. In order to avoid detection, the available funds were routed to the fictitious accounts and then to several bank accounts of entities founded or controlled by Mr. Patil, as alleged.
These funds were used by the Karnala Charitable Trust, Karnala Sports Academy, etc., for the construction of properties such as a sports complex, college and schools and for other personal gains, according to the ED.
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