Bank chairman and ex official denied bail in ₹494 crore co-op bank fraud case
A PMLA court has rejected the bail pleas of Anil Bhosale, chairman of Shivajirao Bhosale Cooperative Bank, and Mangaldas Vittahlrao Bandal
Mumbai: A special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court has rejected the bail pleas of Anil Bhosale, chairman of Shivajirao Bhosale Cooperative Bank, and Mangaldas Vittahlrao Bandal, former chairman of Pune Zilla Parishad, in connection with an alleged ₹494 crore bank fraud case in Pune.
Bhosale, a politician from the Nationalist Congress Party, his wife Jyotsana, and Bandal were initially named by Shivajinagar police and later remanded to Enforcement Directorate (ED) custody after the invocation of the PMLA Act. The case stemmed from a complaint filed by Yogesh Lakade with Shivaji Nagar police station, alleging that a shortage of ₹71 crore was discovered during an RBI scrutiny of the bank's head office.
The RBI audit revealed that Bhosale and other accused had created fraudulent entries to manipulate the bank's accounts register. According to the ED, Bandal secured fraudulent loans in the names of local businessmen and farmers through his close connection with Bhosale. Pune's Economic Offences Wing filed a chargesheet against Bhosale and other accused before the special MPID court in May 2021. The ED alleged that Bandal, Bhosale and other accused siphoned off approximately ₹392 crore of depositors' money.
The prosecution, opposing Bhosale's bail plea, argued that as chairman and promoter, he was the primary accused who sanctioned fraudulent loans for personal gain and orchestrated a conspiracy to standardise the bank's Non-Performing Assets (NPA). "There were total 432 NPA accounts and outstanding principal amount was ₹392 crores. Total proceeds of crime utilised by Anil S Bhosale is about ₹147.30 crores," the prosecution stated.
Prosecutors said Bhosale received proceeds of crime worth ₹41 crore and was involved in sanctioning fraudulent loans. They noted that Bandal had avoided inquiries for an extended period. Additionally, Bhosale had provided an Ikrarpatra admitting to distributing loans worth ₹310 crore.
Bhosale's defence counsel argued that their client had been imprisoned for three years and five months as an undertrial prisoner and, being a senior citizen, suffered from various health ailments. They maintained that the dispute was primarily civil, with loans being recovered. They also cited the precedent of co-accused Suryaji Jadhav receiving bail from the Bombay High Court.
Bandal's counsel contended that the arrests and prosecution's reasoning were baseless, arguing that most recoveries had been made and the case involved purely banking transactions.
Special Sessions Judge Aditee Uday Kadam, ruling on November 7 and 8, found Bhosale's involvement in the alleged offence "not under any doubt" and noted the investigation's satisfactory progress. "It is prima facie evident that the offence committed is a pre-planned and well-designed intellectual child of applicant. Allegations in the complaint are fortified from the recovery as well as 'ikrarpatra' given by applicant," the court observed.
Regarding Bandal's plea, the court noted that his fraudulent transactions had caused widespread harm to villagers and the broader banking community, stating, "During the process, accused have falsified documentation such as fake quotation, project reports in the loan files. Accused have violated the principles and rules of SBSBL." The court concluded, "A big financial scam is committed by hatching deep-rooted conspiracy. Amount of POC of ₹41 crore is attributed to alone applicant. It will show impact on the large interest of the public/State economy."