PMC Bank scam: HDIL promoters diverted funds from lender with help of suspended MD Joy Thomas, says EOW

In a major development, the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Mumbai Police reportedly found that HDIL promoters, who were arrested on 3 October, allegedly diverted funds from Punjab & Maharashtra Cooperative Bank through overdraft facilities. The money was sent in the form of loan accounts by bank officials, said a media report. The Mumbai Police believe that the accused might have withdrawn the entire amount of over Rs 6,500 crore using fraudulent measures, according to a report in The Economic Times. Former managing director of Punjab & Maharashtra Cooperative (PMC) Bank Joy Thomas, who was suspended following the scam, reportedly debited the amounts from the accounts of the HDIL holding companies and the cash was allegedly sent to a Dubai resident, identified as Mehta, the report said citing police sources. [caption id=“attachment_7400291” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. News18[/caption] Mehta allegedly sent the money back to PMC as deposits, the EOW told a local Mumbai court on Monday. Meanwhile, the investigation into the PMC Bank loan fraud case found that HDIL’s dues to PMC Bank included Rs 2,260 crore of principal and Rs 2,815 crore of accumulated interest on it, said a report in The Times of India. Rakesh and Sarang Wadhawan, the father-son duo who are directors of HDIL, were arrested early this month. PMC Bank’s exposure to HDIL group is nearly 73 percent of its total loan book size of Rs 8,880 crore as of 19 September 2019. In an alleged confession letter to the RBI, Thomas had accepted giving loans to realty developer HDIL and its related entity to the tune of Rs 6,500 crore without informing all the board members. Currently, HDIL is developing various projects at Kurla, Nahur, Mulund and Palghar and has a residential portfolio of 86.22 lakh sq ft under construction. Earlier also, the HDIL promoters allegedly had settled their outstanding dues with Bank of India through diverting Rs 90 crore borrowed from PMC Bank, said a report in The Times of India. Waryam Singh, a former chairman of PMC Bank was arrested on Saturday in Mumbai in connection with the alleged Rs 4,355-crore scam at the bank. According to the FIR registered by the EOW, HDIL group promoters colluded with the bank management to take loans from its Bhandup branch in Mumbai. Despite non-payment, bank officials allegedly did not classify these loans as non-performing advances, and hid the information from the Reserve Bank of India. — With PTI inputs