The Municipal Co-operative Bank Scam Exposed! Clerk Siphons Crores!

Even as the depositors of Punjab and Maharashtra Cooperative Bank (PMC Bank) are struggling to overcome the bank scam, another bank scam has rocked Mulundkars!! This time, the poor BMC employees have been hit as a clerk working at the Mulund branch of the Municipal Cooperative Bank has committed a huge scam worth crores! According to bank officials, a clerk working in the bank has committed fraud worth Rs 3.49 crore. Nevertheless, the good news is that the police have arrested the accused and recovered Rs. 86 lac and are investigating the fraud.

The startled BMC employees who have their accounts in the bank are shocked and alarmed. A dejected BMC T-Ward employee said, “We had trusted the bank and deposited all our hard-earned money. We are now frightened. Is our money safe? Such kinds of bank frauds have become a nuisance and people are losing faith in banks.”

Meanwhile, Praveen Singh Pardeshi, the Chief of Municipal Cooperative Bank has assured all the account holders of the bank that their money is secured and there is no need for panic and chaos. Pardeshi further informed that since the accused clerk committed the fraud using the User ID Password, henceforth all bank transactions will be done via biometrics.

Co-workers brought the fraud to light
Co-workers informed that the accused had been working in the bank for the past one and half years. They said that even after office hours the accused kept working. Hence, they suspected that during the extra hours he allegedly did the illegal transfer of amounts in the name of his wife and an acquaintance.

Suspecting the clerk’s activities the co-workers brought the matter to the notice of the Bank Manager, Ashok Jagtap, who immediately conducted an inquiry and the shocking scam was exposed!

Clerk admits his crime
During the investigation, it was revealed the clerk had secretly accessed the bank transfer process and cunningly siphoned huge amounts from bank accounts into his personal account and different accounts of his acquaintances. Interestingly, he did transactions slowly and in phases so that nobody suspected his theft. When the bank manager interrogated him, he admitted his crime. Hence, on December 7, 2019, Bank Manager Ashok Jagtap lodged a written complaint against the clerk.

Police recover Rs 86 lac
The police have begun the investigation and have recovered Rs. 86 lac from the accused’s bank account. The court has given PC to the accused. During interrogation, the police came to know that the accused was earlier working at the Sion branch as a guard. Later, he was promoted as a clerk and transferred to Mulund branch.  The police have booked the clerk for illegal withdrawal of money from the bank.

All bank accounts have been sealed
Last year, the bank had booked a profit of Rs255.7 crore. It had a healthy deposit of Rs 348.9 crore. However, after the scam, all bank accounts have been sealed!! There are 22 branches of the bank with as many as 84,192 account holders. Most of the account holders are Grade IV employees of BMC. Besides, top BMC officials also have their accounts in this bank.

Bank auditing company under the scanner
The bank’s auditor is under the scanner of the police who suspect how the auditor did not detect such a huge scam. Mulund Police Senior PI Ravi Sardesai told Home Times, “We are inquiring with the auditing company and taking statements of the auditors. We have booked a case of negligence against the auditing company.”

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