Bank of Maharashtra CMD arrested in ₹3,000 cr fake loans case

PUNE: In a sudden development, the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) here arrested Ravindra P Marathe, the Chairman and Managing Director of Bank of Maharashtra, in a case of Rs 3,000 crore fraudulent loans extended to Pune’s DSK Group, an official said here on Wednesday.

The EOW has also arrested the bank’s Executive Director Rajendra K. Gupta, Zonal Manager Nityanand Deshpande from Ahmedabad and former CMD Sushil Muhnot from Jaipur.

Two officials of the DS Kulkarni Group, chartered accountant Sunil Ghatpande and VP Engineering Rajiv Newaskar, have also been arrested in the same case, the police said.

Marathe has been arrested for allegedly misusing his powers to sanction big loans to shell companies. According to the investigators, the bank executive and officials colluded with the DSK Group “with dishonest and fraudulent intentions to sanction and disburse the amount of the bank (BOM)” under the garb of loans and the money was later siphoned off.

All the arrested accused have been charged under various provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act and other laws on cheating, forgery, criminal conspiracy and breach of trust.

The Pune-based mega group’s owners DS Kulkarni and his wife Hemanti were arrested in February on charges of cheating over 4,000 investors of over Rs 1,150 crore and diverting bank loans of nearly Rs 2,900 crore.

As a follow-up in the case, last month, the Maharashtra government had ordered attachment of more than 120 properties, 275 bank accounts and four dozen vehicles belonging to the owners and the company invoking the provisions of Maharashtra Protection of Interests of Depositors Act, 1999.