Rs 152.90 Crore Fraud in Union Bank! ED Conducts Raids in Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh

The Directorate of Enforcement (ED), Nagpur, conducted search operations on 26 September 2025 at eight locations in Nagpur and Bhandara districts of Maharashtra, and in Guntur district of Andhra Pradesh. The searches were carried out under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, and were linked to Ramana Rao Bolla, Smt. Nutan Rakesh Singh, and their associates.

During the searches, the ED seized a large number of incriminating documents, property papers, digital devices, and cash of ₹10 lakh. The agency also froze movable assets including bank balances and insurance policies and identified immovable properties worth more than ₹100 crore.

The ED initiated the investigation based on FIRs registered by the Maharashtra Police under various sections of the IPC, 1860. Ramana Rao Bolla, Smt. Nutan Rakesh Singh, and others were accused of defrauding the then Corporation Bank (now Union Bank) and several farmers. The alleged fraud amounted to ₹152.90 crore, affecting the bank and the farmers.

The investigation revealed that Ramana Rao Bolla and his associates fraudulently obtained Aadhaar cards and other documents from farmers. They falsely promised to help the farmers open bank accounts to receive compensation for crop failure under a government scheme. In conspiracy with Sandeep Revnath Jangale, then Assistant Manager of Umarkhed Branch, Corporation Bank, and other accused, they opened bank accounts in the names of 158 farmers. Loans ranging from ₹49 lakh to ₹50 lakh were sanctioned in each account, with Ramana Rao as the guarantor. The accused then siphoned off the loan amounts for personal gain, causing the accounts to become NPA and resulting in a total loss of ₹113 crore to the bank.

Similarly, another group led by Mrs. Nutan Rakesh Singh, wife of Rakesh Upendra Singh, used a similar method. In conspiracy with the same Assistant Manager and other bank officials, they sanctioned loans totaling ₹25.07 crore in the names of 54 farmers, with Mrs. Nutan Rakesh Singh as guarantor. The accused misappropriated the funds, causing these accounts to become NPA, leading to a total loss of ₹39.43 crore (principal of ₹23.03 crore plus interest of ₹16.40 crore) to the bank.

The ED investigation revealed that Ramana Rao Bolla and Mrs. Nutan Rakesh Singh used the misappropriated funds to buy properties in their names and in the names of their family members and entities controlled by them. They also used some of the funds to repay past loans taken in the names of their other entities.