New India Cooperative scam case: Rs 122 crore flagged as missing from vaults existed only on paper

The investigation into the New India CoOperative NIC Bank scam has revealed that the bankrsquos cash vaults in Prabhadevi and Goregaon never actually held the Rs 122 crore flagged as missing by the Reserve Bank of India RBI Instead bank records were allegedly manipulated to show R1334 crore in cash on hand even though the capacity of both vaults was only Rs 10 crore eachOfficials have now learned that the cash never made it to the vaults but was siphoned off directly by Hitesh Mehta the bankrsquos former general manager allegedly in collusion with senior bank officials including wanted acting chairman Gauri Bhanu and her husband former vicechairman Hiren BhanuLeft Hitesh Mehta former GM of New India Cooperative Bank produced in court File picldquoIt appears that the bank falsely reported Rs 1334 crore in cash as stored in its Prabhadevi and Goregaon vaults However during the RBI inspection Rs 122 crore was found missing The RBI found only Rs 60 lakh in the Prabhadevi vault and Rs 1033 crore in the Goregaon vault despite their total capacity being just Rs 20 crorerdquo an officer privy to the investigation saidThe Economic Offences Wing EOW has also suspects that the bankrsquos records and balance sheet were manipulated to show cash reserves that never existed Surprisingly the RBI which has been supervising the bank since 2021 failed to detect this discrepancy until its surprise inspection on February 12 when it discovered that Rs 122 crore was missing Officials also checked whether the bank had invested the cash or purchased gold but no such records were foundThe wanted coupleEOW sources suspect that the RBIrsquos sudden inspection may have been triggered by information that the Bhanus had fled the country Investigation details reveal that two days before the inspection on February 10 Gauri left for Thailand while Hiren had already departed for a Gulf nation on January 26 It has also emerged that Hiren surrendered his Indian nationality and has become a British citizenThe EOW is now examining multiple CCTV cameras of the bank to identify those who accessed the cash vault During the review they found a suspicious individual carrying a bag and entering Mehtarsquos cabin ldquoWe have identified the person and are questioning him about the circumstances in which he was seen with the bag while entering Mehtarsquos cabin We believe he may have played a role in taking away the cash from Mehtardquo an officer saidMeanwhile the EOW is in the process of issuing a bluecorner notice against Gauri and Hiren The couple have been named in the R122 crore embezzlement case after Mehta the prime accused revealed that he had given Rs 26 crore to Hiren and Rs 2 crore to GauriA bluecorner notice issued through Interpol helps gather information on a suspectrsquos identity location or activities in connection with a criminal investigation A redcorner notice follows after a charge sheet is filed to seek the location and arrest of persons wanted for prosecution or to serve a sentenceAccording to the EOW the couple owns a flat on Nepean Sea Road but had rented it out and were instead staying in a rented accommodation at Malabar Hill ldquoBoth premises were searched twice but they were not found at either locationrdquo an officer said The case is being investigated under the supervision of Joint Commissioner Nishith Mishra and DCP Mangesh Shinde with PI Kishor Pawar as the investigating officerThe EOW has so far arrested four accused in the casemdashMehta former bank CEO Abhimanyu Bohan and SRA developer Dharmesh Paun who allegedly received R70 crore but claims he got only R12 crore The fourth accused is Manohar Arunachalam son of absconding accused Unnathan Arunachalam who had allegedly received R40 crore in the scamThe EOW has recorded statements from six bank directors who claimed that all decisions were made by the couple without their involvement The directors who have given their statements are Frederick G DrsquoSa Kursu Pesi Paghdiwalla Milan Anil Kothary Shiv Satish Kathuria and Viren Pravinbhai Barot