Rs 74 crore fraud in Gokak co-op bank; 7 police teams on lookout for accused

BELAGAVI: Fourteen people linked to the Shree Mahalakshmi Urban Co-op Credit Bank Ltd in Gokak have gone missing after a Rs 74 crore financial fraud was detected in the bank. The police have formed seven teams to nab the accused and the police have attached 112 properties with a market value of Rs 50 crore within four days of the case being registered.

The locked shutters of the bank.

The accused deposited Rs 6 crore in the bank and took Rs 74 crore as loans which have not been repaid. Some bank staff are also involved in the fraud, according to the police. The audit reports of the last four years were also fudged to cover up the fraud, police said. The fraud came to light after the administrative board of bank filed a complaint with the Gokak Town police.

A depositor returns after seeing the locked shutters.

Police Superintendent Bheemashankar Guled said the main accused is the bank manager Sagar while three other staffers and his relatives were involved in the fraud. “Eleven of the accused deposited Rs 6 crore and took out Rs 81 crore in loans. Later on, they repaid Rs 7 crore, but did not pay up the remaining Rs 74 crore. From 2021, the bank’s accounts were audited four times but nowhere was the dues shown. Even when an RBI team landed at the bank, they showed some fake Excel sheets and duped the officials”, he said.

Police Superintendent Bheemashankar Guled briefing the media.

The SP said the police have seized 112 properties with a government valuation of Rs 13.80 crore and a market value of Rs 50 crore. “The bank has 3,000 depositors and the co-operative bank has a deposit of Rs 32 crore with the RBI. With all this, the depositors’ money can be returned. We have formed seven teams to nab the accused and we have also written to transfer the case to the CID. They can take over the case at any time”, the officer said.