Pune co-op bank says ED has sought info on loans given to attached Satara sugar mill

I would like to say that for 10 years, we have been dealing with the sugar mill and all the loans so far were given to them by adhering to the rules and regulations laid down by NABARD and MSCB, said Thorat, a former MLA.He said the cooperative bank is not involved in any wrongdoing and has always adhered to rules while sanctioning loans.There has been no incident of default in repayment.

Ramesh Thorat, Chairman of the Pune District Central Cooperative Bank, on Monday said the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has sought information from the bank about loans granted to Jarandeshwar Sugar Mills, which assets were attached by the central agency.

Early this month, the ED attached assets worth over Rs 65 crore of the Satara district-based sugar mill under the anti-money laundering law in connection with the alleged Maharashtra State Cooperative Bank (MSCB) scam.

''Two days ago, a notice from the ED was received by the PDCC Bank seeking details about loans given to Jarandeshwar Sugar Mills. I would like to say that for 10 years, we have been dealing with the sugar mill and all the loans so far were given to them by adhering to the rules and regulations laid down by NABARD and MSCB,'' said Thorat, a former MLA.

He said the cooperative bank is not involved in any wrongdoing and has always adhered to rules while sanctioning loans.

''There has been no incident of default in repayment. We have given loans to the bank adhering to all the rules and regulations...so the bank is not involved in any kind of wrongdoing,'' Thorat asserted.

The case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) is based on a 2019 FIR of the Mumbai Police's economic offences wing (EOW) that alleged that sugar mill was fraudulently sold by the then officials and directors of MSCB at throw-away prices to their own relatives and private people ''without following'' due procedure prescribed under the SARFAESI Act.

SARFAESI stands for Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interest Act and under its provisions banks can sell immovable assets to recover loans.

The EOW FIR was filed on the orders of the Bombay High Court. The ED said t the MSCB conducted auction of the sugar mill in 2010 at an ''under-valued price'' and without following due procedure.

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