The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of Mumbai Police, investigating the New India Cooperative Bank scam, is set to declare the bank’s acting chairman Gauri Bhanu and her husband, former vice-chairman Hiren Bhanu, as absconders after confirming that they have fled abroad.

According to sources, Hiren Bhanu left the country on January 26 and landed in a Gulf nation nearly two weeks before the RBI’s inspection. His wife, Gauri Bhanu, fled to Thailand on February 10, just two days before the inspection. Officials now suspect that the couple may have been tipped off about the scam and the RBI’s scrutiny. The investigation has also revealed that several family members fled the country on February 14, the day the FIR was registered.