The list of tainted bankers seems to be getting longer. The CEO and executive director of the state-run Bank of Maharashtra was arrested on Wednesday, for misusing authority in providing loans to a property developer.
Chief executive Ravindra Marathe and an executive director, Rajendra Gupta, were among six people arrested, police said. Others include Sushil Muhnot, a former chairman and managing director of the bank, a manager at the bank, and a chartered accountant and an employee of D.S. Kulkarni Developers according to reports.
Authorities have stepped up scrutiny of the state banks after a more than $2 billion fraud unearthed in Punjab National Bank, the second-largest state-run lender, this year.
Media reports said that the total scam is worth ₹2,043.18 crore. The accused floated nine different firms to siphon off the funds collected from 33,000 investors and fixed-deposit (FD) holders who were promised good returns on their FDs, said the charge sheet filed by the Pune police in May.
Current and former officials at some other state lenders, including IDBI Bank, Indian Bank, Syndicate Bank and Canara Bank have been investigated over alleged loan fraud cases. State-run banks have reported 8,670 cases of fraudulent loans totalling ₹61,260 crore over five financial years up to 31 March 2017, RBI data shows.
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