BENGALURU: The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) has arrested Rajesh VR in the case of Sri Guru Raghavendra Sahakara Bank Niyamitha, under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, in connection with “misappropriation of public deposits of more than Rs 1,000 crore”, the ED stated in an official release on Thursday.
The designated court in Bengaluru remanded him in three days’ ED custody. “Rajesh is the major beneficiary of the fund, which was siphoned off from the bank in connivance with the management. As per the RBI’s inspection report, he had availed of loans of Rs 40.40 crore from banks and not repaid them,” the Central agency added. The investigation had revealed that there are multiple FIRs against Rajesh and his wife in case of public fraud committed by them in other cooperative banks/societies too.
“They are habitual offenders. Earlier, an ECIR was recorded by the ED on the basis of an FIR registered under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Section 9 of the Karnataka Protection of Interest Depositors in Financial Establishments (KPIDFE) Act, 2004, by Bengaluru police against the bank and others,” the agency stated.
Earlier, the directorate had attached the properties of the accused, valued at Rs 45.32 crore. The same was confirmed by the Adjudicating Authority (PMLA), New Delhi, on March 10, 2021.