Port Blair: The Chief Judicial Magistrate’s Court has granted bail to seven people who were arrested in the alleged loan scam at the Andaman and Nicobar State Cooperative Bank Ltd (ANSCBL).
ANSCBL was registered on 6th January, 1965 and Bank was established on 31st March, 1966.
Those who received bail include M. Sajid (owner of Andaman Escapades), Tarun Mondal (director of Blair Enterprises Pvt Ltd), Bablu Halder (director of Andaman Mormon Infrastructure Pvt Ltd), Ajay Minz (director of Andaman Treepie Adventure Pvt Ltd), K. Subramanian (former ANSCBL director), former chairman and sitting MP Kuldeep Rai Sharma, former managing director K. Murugan, bank employee Kalaivanan, and businessman Sanjay Lal.
A senior police officer clarified that although bail has been granted, Kuldeep Rai Sharma, Kalaivanan, and Murugan will remain in judicial custody because they have not yet received bail in the Enforcement Directorate (ED) case. Sanjay Lal is also in custody due to his arrest by the ED.
The case began after the Crime and Economic Offences Cell of the Andaman and Nicobar Police filed an FIR on May 15. This FIR was based on a complaint from the Deputy Registrar of Cooperative Societies, who reported large-scale irregularities in how loans were sanctioned by the bank.
On July 18, the Crime and Economic Offences Cell arrested Sharma in connection with these irregularities. Later, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) also launched a parallel investigation.
On July 31, the ED carried out its first-ever search operation in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. In recent weeks, the agency has summoned more than 10 people to Kolkata for questioning.
According to ED findings, there was a major conspiracy involving the fraudulent sanctioning of loans worth more than ₹500 crore. Loan facilities were sanctioned through more than 100 loan accounts in the names of various firms and shell companies and the amount involved in the fraud/NPA (non-performing assets) exceeds ₹500 crore.
ED has so far collected evidence which indicates that a loan amount of ₹230 crores (approx.) was fraudulently taken exclusively for the benefit of Kuldeep Rai Sharma and his associates including the managing director and loan officer. Investigation has also revealed that K Murugan and K Kalaivanan also fraudulently availed loans from the bank in the names of companies incorporated in the name of relatives.
“The officials not only sanctioned loans in clear violation of banking rules but also helped associates take multiple loans. They charged a 5 percent commission, which was routed either in cash or through accounts of shell companies,” the ED said in its statement.
Further investigation by both agencies is still underway.
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