Credit co-op manager launders ₹40 cr via CCTV staff’s A/CS

MUMBAI: A Nagpur-based CCTV installation worker and his boss found themselves part of a major investigation by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) regarding laundering of large amounts of black money. The two men claim to have allowed the former manager of a credit co-operative society to use their accounts to launder around ₹40 crore to foreign bank accounts.

Machindra Khade, ex-manager of Renuka Mata Multistate Co-operative Urban Credit Society was arrested last week after it was revealed that the society’s account was being used to transfer large amounts of money to shell companies which then transferred the cash to Hong Kong. The ED stated that Khade charged a commission of ₹50 per one lakh which was lower than the rate offered by illicit hawala operators who conduct similar dubious transactions to route black money out of the country.

“We are investigating persons who used the facility through Khade to send money abroad,” said Vineet Agarwal, special director, ED.

“Khade had obtained the signatures of account holders on blank real-time gross settlement (RTGS) slips and kept them in his custody. He would then use the slips and fill the amount and beneficiary details for a commission of ₹50 per lakh,” the agency stated in a statement.

“Investigations revealed that around ₹120 crore was deposited in such accounts and thereafter the money was transferred from these accounts to different shell companies. It would then be transferred out of India to Hong Kong-based companies on forged bills of entry.”

Account holders such as the CCTV installation worker and his employer were unaware that their accounts were being misused for this purpose. The worker had gone to install CCTV cameras for the society when Khade lured him to open an account there. The worker, in turn, approached his boss to open an account for himself and the company.

THE SOCIETY’S ACCOUNT WAS USED TO TRANSFER MONEY TO SHELL COMPANIES THAT THEN MOVED IT TO ACCOUNTS IN HONG KONG