Pune cooperative bank ex-chairman arrested in money laundering case

livemint.com:

Enforcement Directorate (ED) has announced the arrest of the former chairman of a cooperative bank in Pune on charges of money laundering. Amar Sadhuram Mulchandani, who served as the ex-chairman of Seva Vikas Cooperative Bank, was taken into custody on July 1 following an ongoing investigation into a fraud case involving the alleged misappropriation of funds amounting to ₹429 crore.

The ED custody of Mulchandani has been extended until July 7, as ordered by a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court. The arrest is directly related to the Seva Vikas Cooperative Bank fraud case, in which the bank experienced a substantial loss of ₹429 crore across 124 non-performing asset (NPA) loan accounts.

This financial collapse has had severe consequences for the bank, causing it to go bankrupt and resulting in significant losses for thousands of small depositors. This marks the fifth arrest made by the ED in connection with this case.

Prior to Mulchandani's arrest, the ED had already apprehended Sagar Suryawanshi, an individual who had taken loans from the cooperative bank, as well as two ED staffers working on contract at the Mumbai office, and a close associate of Mulchandani. These individuals were allegedly involved in sharing sensitive information regarding the ongoing investigation in exchange for bribes.  The ED had previously stated that Suryawanshi and his relatives engaged in fraudulent activities, causing a loss of ₹60.67 crore in ten NPA loan accounts.

The agency claimed that Suryawanshi obtained loans in collaboration with Amar Mulchandani without possessing sufficient creditworthiness or the capacity to repay. The money laundering probe initiated against Mulchandani and others originated from multiple