Mumbai: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) conducted searches at eight locations across Nagpur and Bhandara in Maharashtra, and Guntur in Andhra Pradesh, as part of a sprawling money-laundering probe. The investigation targets Ramana Rao Bolla, Nutan Rakesh Singh, and their associates in connection with an alleged bank fraud of over Rs 152 crore. Both Bolla and Singh were earlier arrested by the Nagpur police and are currently in judicial custody.
According to the central agency, two syndicates operating with an identical modus operandi fraudulently obtained Aadhaar and other documents from unsuspecting farmers under the pretext of helping them open bank accounts to receive government crop compensation. Using these documents, the accused opened 212 bank accounts in farmers’ names and secured loans ranging from Rs 49 lakh to Rs 50 lakh each. The funds were allegedly siphoned off for personal gain, pushing the accounts into default and causing significant losses to the bank.
The searches, conducted under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, led to the seizure of cash worth Rs 10 lakh, property papers, digital devices, voluminous incriminating documents, and the freezing of movable assets including bank balances and insurance policies. Investigators also identified immovable properties valued at over Rs 100 crore. The central agency said on Wednesday.
According to the ED, the probe is based on FIRs registered by the Maharashtra Police against Bolla, Singh, and their associates for defrauding the then Corporation Bank (now Union Bank) and several farmers to the tune of Rs 152.90 crore. The FIRs were filed after the fraudulent activities were detected by the bank in 2017, when loans were found to have been sanctioned in the names of unaware farmers and subsequently misappropriated.
According to the ED, Ramana Rao Bolla and his associates fraudulently obtained Aadhaar cards and other documents from farmers under the pretext of helping them open bank accounts necessary for receiving crop failure compensation under a government scheme. In a criminal conspiracy with Sandeep Revnath Jangale, then Assistant Manager of the Umarkhed branch of Corporation Bank, they opened 158 bank accounts in the farmers’ names and sanctioned loans ranging from Rs 49 lakh to Rs 50 lakh per account. Bolla allegedly took signatures of the farmers and retained the cheques with himself. Loans were then applied for against grain mortgaged in the farmers’ warehouses using forged documents, and these loans were subsequently sanctioned. The amounts were allegedly diverted to 24 different accounts, with Bolla acting as the guarantor for all the loans. The accused reportedly siphoned off the funds, causing the accounts to turn into non-performing assets (NPA) and resulting in a total loss of Rs 113 crore to the bank.
Similarly, a syndicate led by Nutan Rakesh Singh followed the same modus operandi, involving the Umarkhed branch of Corporation Bank, the same assistant manager Jangale, and other officials, secured loans totaling Rs 25.07 crore in the names of 54 farmers. Singh acted as guarantor and later diverted the funds, resulting in a total loss of ₹39.43 crore.
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The ED claims the misappropriated funds were used by Bolla and Singh to purchase properties in their names, their family members' names, and in the names of entities controlled by them. Some funds were also allegedly used to repay previous loans under other entities.
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