Rs.430 crore Fraud: Bombay High Court Grants Bail to Prime Accused in Seva Vikas Bank Loan Fraud
Last week, the Bombay High Court granted bail to Sagar Suryawanshi, a prime accused in the ₹429.57 crore loan fraud at Seva Vikas Co-operative Bank, Pune. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) accused him of siphoning ₹60.67 crore through dubious loans. However, the court observed that the money trail did not conclusively lead to him.
Court’s Observation
Justice NJ Jamadar, while granting bail, stated, “Prima facie, apart from the credit of a sum of ₹10 lakh to the account of the applicant (Suryawanshi), the money trail does not lead to him.” The court found the accusation that Suryawanshi was instrumental in the generation, acquisition, layering, placement, and use of the proceeds of crime to the tune of ₹60.67 crore to be tenuous.
Arrest and FIR
The ED arrested Suryawanshi based on a FIR registered by the Vimantal police in Pune on May 17, 2018. This was following a complaint by a shareholder of the co-operative bank regarding alleged malpractices in the bank’s operations. Subsequently, the cooperatives department conducted an audit of loans exceeding ₹50 lakh, revealing a misappropriation of ₹429.57 crore involving 124 non-performing loan accounts, which constituted 92% of the loans extended by the bank.
Additional FIRs and Allegations
Three more FIRs were registered based on the audit report. Suryawanshi was named in one FIR, alleging that in connivance with then-bank chairman Amar Mulchandani, he borrowed large amounts, diverted them to other purposes including ever-greening of loans, and thus generated, acquired, layered, and integrated the proceeds of crime amounting to ₹60.67 crore.
Specific Loans and Beneficiaries
The high court noted that Suryawanshi obtained only one loan, a car loan of ₹1.46 crore, apart from receiving ₹10 lakh from a firm owned by his wife, Sheetal Tejwani. A majority of the ₹60.67 crore was extended as loans to M/s. Renuka Lawns and M/s. Paramount Infrastructure, owned by Tejwani. According to the ED, these firms were involved in the acquisition, possession, and use of proceeds of crime amounting to ₹42.78 crore and ₹3.74 crore, respectively.
Court’s Critique and Bail Conditions
The court also observed that Tejwani, despite being named as an accused in the money laundering case, was not arrested by the agency and was granted formal bail upon appearing before the court after the ED filed the prosecution complaint. Justice Jamadar commented on the selective approach of the agency, stating, “Deprivation of personal liberty cannot be a matter of chance (from the point of view of the accused) or choice (from the point of view of the investigator).”
Bail Order
The court ordered Suryawanshi to be released on bail upon furnishing a personal bond of ₹1 lakh and one or two sureties of the same amount. Additionally, he was required to surrender his passport and was restrained from leaving India without prior permission from the special PMLA court.
