MDCB bankers accused of fraud given clean chit

Nagpur: Officials of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLC Pravin Darekar-led Mumbai District Cooperative Bank (MDCB) were given a clean chit in a case in which they were accused of misusing their positions for giving loans to their own relatives. “A vigilance squad, which was set up for conducting an enquiry into alleged financial irregularities in Mumbai bank, found that no such irregularities had taken place,” the state cooperative minister Subhash Deshmukh told the state Assembly through a written reply on Wednesday.

The alleged financial irregularities  included loan distribution by MDCB without following basic banking norms. The issue was also raised in the monsoon session of the Legislature.

On Wednesday, Mr Deshmukh said, “The vigilance squad has gone through all the allegations. It has investigated the matter but found no officer guilty.”

Mr Deshmukh has also said that the vigilance squad has found some technical irregularities and two officers are suspended.

The allegations were levelled against senior-most officials of the bank. The vigilance squad had reportedly given a report, accusing the bank officials of diverting loans to their own relatives. This came to fore after a complaint was filed with National Bank For Agriculture And Rural Development (NABARD). The vigilance squad had conducted the inquiries in various branches in Mumbai.

Shiv Sena MLA Prakash Surve raised the issue and asked whether the state government would take action against top directors of the bank. He also said that there is doubt over the financial stability of the bank.

However, Mr Deshmukh denied the claims, saying that bank is in good condition. “There will not be any inquiry into the cases as there is no need of it,” he said.