11 elected members of PACCS disqualified over scam of Rs 2.9 crore in TN
When the scam surfaced in 2021, the state government ordered an investigation and the probe report was submitted on June 6, 2022.
Published: 16th August 2023 07:39 AM | Last Updated: 16th August 2023 07:39 AM | A+A A-
For representational purposes
THOOTHUKUDI: In connection to the scam amounting to a total of Rs 2.9 crore that transpired at the Palayakayal primary agricultural cooperative credit society (PACCS) with regard to the gold loan waiver scheme, Joint Director of Cooperatives Societies Siva Muthukumarasamy has disqualified all the 11 elected members, including the president, of the society.
When the scam surfaced in 2021, the state government ordered an investigation and the probe report was submitted on June 6, 2022. The report identified 10 modules of the scam under gold loan schemes which resulted in the Palayakayal PACCS incurring a loss of Rs 2.93 crore. The report said the 11 elected members connived with the office bearers to carry out the scam by creating bogus documents, records, ledgers, counterfeit signatures and illegally holding back the gold ornaments pledged by the public.
The investigation report assessed by TNIE also revealed that clerk Saravanan had taken loans to the tune of Rs 34,78,900 by fabricating documents in the names of many account holders, who had secured loans by pledging gold, between March 16, 2021, and May 28, 2021. "He also took a gold loan amounting to Rs 3,67,650 using ornaments of customers. When the customers came to obtain loan amounts, Saravanan would send them back claiming that the society had no cash balance. In fact, he would give them some amount, and then pledge their gold under the gold schemes that were expected to be waived off, by creating bogus documents. This way he swindled Rs 36,28,500," the report said and added that Saravanan was not the appraiser to handle the ornaments.
The officer bearers had also taken away 102 grammes of gold worth Rs 4,01,098 belonging to one K Manoharan. After the state government announced a waiver for loans taken by pledging less than five sovereigns of gold on December 31, 2020, the office bearers illegally created a new loan ledger and brought in several outdated loans within the eligible time period to avail of the waiver. This way, they scammed the government to a total of Rs 1.85 crore, the report said.
"Secretary S Sekar, clerk V Saravanan, senior clerk M Paramasivan, cashier Annalakshmi, appraiser Thiyagaranan, and temporary staff Thanga Selvam and Anandha Jothi had executed the illegalities, while the elected members blindly passed resolutions to sanction the loans for the forged documents," the report added.
According to the order recently promulgated by Joint Director of Cooperatives Societies Muthukumarasamy, office bearers of the Palayakayal society carried out 10 different kinds of scams running to a total of Rs 2.93 crore, which had maligned the reputation of the Palayakayal society among the public.
The administrative committee comprising the elected members has the powers to lend loans and cancel the same, but they remained aloof and failed to monitor the illegalities of the loan process, which led to the gross mismanagement of the society's affairs. So, elected members V Jeyasankar (president), P Vijayasankar, A Juliet, M Muthulakshmi alias Kamalam, J Rosemalar, M Sellachami, P Samuthrapandi, P Alagesan, S Kannan, V Selvakumar and L Vijayan, have been disqualified under section 36(1) of the Co-operative Societies Act, 1983, the order said.
