BENGALURU: Around Rs 70 crore financial scam has surfaced within the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) Staff Credit Co-operative Society Limited.
CJ Muralidar, a Section Supervisor at the EPFO office on Rajaram Mohan Roy Road, and also the president of the co-operative society, filed a complaint with the Cubbon Park police on Saturday accusing Chief Executive Officer (CEO) G Gopinath, former accountant BL Jagadish, former presidents Jayashankar and Vijendra Rao, former CEOs Lingappa Gowda and Prabhakar, and others of siphoning off funds collected from employees.
According to the FIR, Gopinath, along with several former presidents and accountants, allegedly diverted crores of rupees that had been deposited by nearly 300 serving and retired EPFO employees as fixed deposits (FDs). Members were promised 9% annual interest, but payments reportedly stopped about three months ago, raising suspicion.
The FIR stated that Muralidar’s internal probe revealed that while the society had received around Rs 70 crore in deposits, only Rs 3.5 crore had been disbursed as loans, suggesting large-scale fund diversion. The accused are alleged to have created fake records, forged documents, and manipulated financial statements to cover up the embezzlement.
Over 50 former and current employees gathered at the Cubbon Park police station, demanding the arrest of the accused. Deputy Commissioner of Police (Central) Akshay M Hakay said the police are probing the matter.
The police have registered a case under sections related to cheating, criminal breach of trust, and forgery of the BNS.