ED attaches assets of ex-Karnataka cooperative bank chairman, wife in Rs 63-cr gold loan 'fraud'
New Delhi, Jun 6 (PTI): The Enforcement Directorate on Friday said it has attached assets worth about Rs 14 crore of the former chairman of a Karnataka-based cooperative bank and his wife as part of an alleged Rs 63 crore worth gold loan scam linked money laundering case.
RM Manjunatha Gowda was arrested by the federal probe agency in April after the agency carried out raids in the case.
The former chairman of the Shimoga district co-operative central bank headquartered in Shivamogga is currently lodged in jail under judicial custody.
Immovable and movable properties having present market value worth Rs 13.91 crore belonging to Gowda and his wife have been attached under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in an investigation related to gold loan scam at the city branch of the cooperative bank, the ED said in a statement.
The money laundering case stems from a complaint and chargesheet filed by the Karnataka Police where it was alleged that B Shobha, a former branch manager of the said bank, in conspiracy with other co-accused "diverted" bank funds worth Rs 62.77 crore.
The modus operandi, as per the police, involved opening "fraudulent" gold loan accounts without the knowledge of the individual account holders, utilising fake, fabricated and forged documents.
ED probe found that "large-scale misappropriation of funds took place at the Shimoga district co-operative central bank, city branch which was orchestrated primarily by the branch manager B Shobha on the instructions of R M Manjunatha Gowda".
The agency alleged the "proceeds of crime" generated by B Sobha in conspiracy with other co-accused were "laundered" and "handed-over" to Gowda.
Gowda "acquired" various movable and immovable properties from the alleged illegal funds and as per a chargesheet filed by the Lokayukta Police, he was also found to be in possession of assets "disproportionate" to his known sources of income, the ED claimed.
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Man arrested with Rs 2.54-crore heroin in Mumbai
Mumbai (PTI): Police have arrested a man and seized over 500 grams of heroin worth Rs 2.54 crore in the illicit market from him in Mumbai, officials said on Friday.
The police's Anti-Narcotics Cell (ANC) made the drug seizure in Santacruz in the western suburbs. The operation was conducted by the Kandivali unit of the ANC on Thursday as part of a special crackdown against drug trafficking in the area, they said.
Acting on specific inputs, an ANC team conducted a raid in Santacruz (East) and intercepted a man. During a search, the team recovered 508 grams of high-grade heroin from his possession, an official said.
The seized contraband, a highly addictive, opioid drug derived from morphine, is estimated to be worth Rs 2.54 crore in the international market, he informed.
Following the seizure, a case was registered against the man under relevant sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985, and he was formally placed under arrest in the early hours of Friday.
The police are currently investigating the source of the drug and trying to identify the intended recipients of the consignment, he said.
