Mumbai News: EoW Probe Reveals Omkara ARC Role In New India Cooperative Bank Scam

Mumbai: The Mumbai Police Economic Offence Wing (EOW) probing the loans turned Non Performing Assets (NPA) of New India Cooperative Bank scam has revealed irregular Rs 30 crore debt write off granted to Omkara Asset Reconstruction Company (ARC) Pvt Ltd.

According to the probe agency NPAs to the tune of Rs 210 crore were sold to Omkara ARC by the bank at a pittance in connivance with the top management.

“A Rs 7 crore loan was granted to ACAIPL, a sister concern of Omkara ARC, without proper due diligence. Loans were approved for the associates of bank chairman Hiren Bhanu using inflated valuation reports. Commission agent Manish Simaria facilitated corporate loans and earned huge commissions despite defaulting on an Rs8 crore loan himself,” confirmed a senior EOW official.

Last week the EOW had conducted multiple raids at 10 at 10 electronics stores in Bihar, belonging to Javed Azam, one of the arrested accused in the Rs 122 crore embezzlement from New India Cooperative Bank vaults.

The interrogation of key arrested accused, Arunachalam Ullahanathan Maruthuvar had led EOW on the financial trial of the embezzled bank funds invested into an electronics store chain ‘Digital Duniya’ owned by Javed Azam. He had allegedly invested Rs 15 crore of the Rs 18 crore recieved from Arunachalam in setting up a chain of 11 stores of electronic items under the brand ‘Digital Duniya’, from 2020.

The EOW has arrested eight people in the case including prime accused Hitesh Mehta, who had been allegedly stealing money from the bank’s safe from 2019 to 2025 and handed it over to his two close accomplices—Dharmesh Paun and Arunachalam —who helped misappropriate the funds.

The massive fraud was discovered during an RBI inspection at the bank’s Prabhadevi and Goregaon branches in February.

The bank former chairman Hiren Bhanu and his wife, ex-vice-chairperson Gauri Bhanu fled abroad just before the scam was exposed.