In a major breakthrough in the ₹122 crore New India Cooperative Bank scam, the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Mumbai Police has arrested a building material supplier from Jharkhand for his alleged role in laundering ₹3.5 crore. The accused, Pawan Amarsingh Jaiswal (47), a native of Chakradharpur in West Singhbhum district, was apprehended from his Lucknow residence on Saturday morning. He has been brought to Mumbai on transit remand.
The case traces back to Hitesh Mehta, a key accused who allegedly sought to convert ₹15 crore of unaccounted money into legitimate funds. According to investigators, Mehta had initially approached a Satara-based gang skilled in routing black money through charitable trusts. However, when their deal collapsed over documentation concerns, Mehta directly engaged with Ajay Singh Rathod, who, along with Rajeev Ranjan Pandey, took the ₹15 crore promising a return of ₹22 crore.
The investigation revealed that Rathod and Pandey split the ₹15 crore equally. Rathod allegedly fled with ₹7.5 crore to Rajasthan, while Pandey gave ₹3 crore from his share to his associate, Pawan Jaiswal, marking Jaiswal's deeper involvement in the scam. Following these developments, the EOW has declared Ajay Rathod and Pawan Jaiswal as wanted accused in the larger ₹122 crore fraud.
An intriguing part of the scam surfaced when Mehta’s family priest, Shravan Pandit Durave, played an intermediary role. Durave initially connected Mehta with a network of individuals from Satara—including a farmer, a lawyer, and accountants operating trusts—who regularly facilitated money laundering activities. The gang eventually withdrew from the deal after trust-related documentation raised red flags.
With the arrest of Jaiswal, the Mumbai Police hope to uncover critical links in the fraudulent transactions and trace the flow of funds. A manhunt is underway for Rathod, who is believed to hold vital clues about the utilisation of his ₹7.5 crore share. This operation successfully handled by Api Nitin Pawar, Head Constable Ulhas Sawant and Abhishek Prabhu.
The investigation is ongoing.
