EOW arrests 2 for multi-crore loan fraud

The accused had taken a loan from the Mumbai District Central Cooperative Bank Limited, popularly known as Mumbai Bank, by presenting allegedly forged documents of 837 people.

Rajendra Tiwari and Shankar Menden failed to repay Rs 2.4 crore to the Mumbai Bank

According to police officials, the ex-corporator's brother Rajendra Shivnaresh Tiwari and Shankar Mahaling Menden had taken a loan of Rs 3,25,79,000 in the name of Tripti Cooperative Credit Society. Of this, they failed to repay Rs 2,41,12,000. The accused claim they can't pay the amount because the people to whom they lent the money did not turn up to pay it back. However officials clarified that this is not the case.

Senior Police Inspector Vilas Kanade, EOW, said, "Tiwari and his colleague Menden duped the officials from Mumbai Bank on the pretext that they wanted to provide loans to members belonging to his cooperative society. He took the money between 2008 and 2010 in three sets."

He added, "Tiwari and Menden have been saying that they provided the money to members who failed to pay it back to them, because of which the duo has not been able to repay the loan taken from Mumbai Bank. However, we know that it is these two who have utilised the money they loaned from the bank." According to a source, people in whose names the two accused took the loan are getting letters asking them to repay the loan, which they have not even taken.

Booked
The duo has been booked under sections 465 (forgery), 467 (forgery of valuable security, will,) 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating), 471 (using as genuine a forged document), 420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property) and 120B (criminal conspiracy). The two were produced in court on Friday and remanded in police custody till Monday.

The scam
The Mumbai Bank had lent about Rs 88.5 crore to 22 local cooperative societies located in different areas, which failed to pay Rs 61.4 crore. Tripti Cooperative is one of these. According to the senior officer, Tiwari and Menden have been absconding ever since the scam came to light.u00a0