HYDERABAD: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) Hyderabad Zonal Unit has provisionally attached two immovable properties worth Rs 1.1 crore under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in connection with its ongoing probe into irregularities by office bearers of AP Mahesh Cooperative Urban Bank.
The attached properties are situated at Adibatla village, Ibrahimpatnam mandal, Rangareddy district and are held in the name of Rohit Asawa, son of Umesh Chand Asawa, the then Managing Director and CEO of AP Mahesh Cooperative Urban Bank.
The investigation began after two FIRs were filed against senior bank officials—including Ramesh Kumar Bung, Umesh Chand Asawa, and Puroshatamdas Mandhana for allegedly misusing their positions to disburse loans to ineligible borrowers using illegal collateral. They were also accused of collecting commissions from these loans, which were used to acquire properties in their own names and those of their families.
The ED’s probe revealed that Asawa sanctioned loans to Biomax Fuels using third-party properties as collateral, despite them being under litigation, and charged commissions of 2% to 4%, resulting in a cash collection of Rs 1.1 crore. This cash was allegedly used to purchase two properties in his son’s name, with the actual market value exceeding Rs 1.5 crore, while documented to be around Rs 26.70 lakh.