Two held in Rs 1cr car loans scam

THANE: Two fraudsters who cheated three cooperative banks of more than Rs 1 crore by submitting fake documents of sale and purchase of cars, including a high-end Mercedes Benz, were arrested by the Thane crime branch on Saturday.

Thaikal Matthew Aipe ( 38), mastermind behind the scam, along with his accomplice Umesh Shrikanthak Gowda (35) successfully obtained car loans up to Rs 1.07 crore from three Thane-based banks-City Cooperative Bank, Pune People's Cooperative Bank (both, in Naupada) and Mahanagar Bank-by presenting fake registration certificates and insurance documents of vehicles.

"Matthew was familiar with bank loan formalities as he had ealier worked with several automobile showrooms in Mumbai and Thane. In 2008, he started his own car agency, Alpha Motors, at Kaler in Bhiwandi, which has till date executed 51 sales. "Our inquiries revealed that 18 of these deals were fraudulent and loans were secured on submitting fake RC books,'' said CV Joshi, senior inspector, Thane crime branch.

The modus operandi was simple. "He would develop a fine rapport with the banks and their management by his sweet talks and being regular in making EMI payments. The initial car sales, on which he obtained loans from the banks, were genuine. However, greed got over him and he then manufactured fake RC books showing purchase of high-end cars. The banks would issue a cheque in the account of Alpha Motors for the sale which never was,'' Joshi told TOI.

Matthew is said to have teamed up with two or three unidentified persons who lent their names for the fraud deal. "The arrangement was the money from the bank would be split between Mattew and the person under whose name the car loan was obtained,'' the police official said.

A Mercedes Benz, four Xylo, six Swift, one Logan cars were among the 18 fraudulent deals transacted by Matteew. "The initial 2-3 EMI payments towards the car loans would be done on time so as not to arouse suspicion in the bank. Also it was the only way to ensure that future loans are disbursed on time,'' Joshi said.

Police suspect the role of the bank officals and are inquiring. Meanwhile, the management of Pune People's cooperative bank have suspended its manager one Khobragade for alleged role in the scam.

courtesy : Times of India

Former co-op bank officials booked for Rs 70 lakh graft

VADODARA: Former senior officials of Alavi Cooperative Bank in the city have been booked for misappropriation of funds by the sub-auditor of the district cooperatives registrar. The officials have been accused of misappropriating an amount of Rs 70 lakh between November 2007 and March 2009. 

The case filed in this regard with Kishwanwadi police station names Akbari Charniwala, former managing director (MD) and currently the joint MD, former chairman Abedin Baldiwala and 10 managing committee members during the time of graft as the accused in the case. 

The accused had allegedly misappropriated funds in connection with deal of a land plot belonging to the bank and construction of a branch coming up in the city. The accused allegedly sold off a plot in the Sardar Estate on Ajwa Road for Rs 6.67 lakh when its market value was Rs 18 lakh. The plot was purchased by the bank way back in 1992 for Rs 1.8 lakh. The sub-auditor, H R Sodawala, has stated that the bank was duped of Rs 11.33 lakh in the deal. It has also come to light that the plot was sold to relatives of Charniwala. 

The case also alleges that the bank had started construction of another branch on Ajwa Road and an estimate of Rs 30 lakh was cleared for the purpose. However, without any formal clearances from the committee, an expense of Rs 88.93 lakh was incurred on construction. It also came to light that material for the construction of the branch was supplied by Baldiwala's shop in Dabhoi. 

Another allegation made in the case is that Charniwala had taken Rs 50,000 for getting the plans of the branch cleared from the municipal corporation on November 23, 2007, even when this was not needed. He repaid the amount on March 28, 2003, when some objections were raised, but did not pay any interest on the amount to the bank. 

courtesy : times of india

Bank ordered to pay widow FD maturity amount

VADODARA: A 28-year-long struggle of a widow to get her fixed deposit (FD) amount back from a cooperative bank ended on Tuesday. The bank was ordered to pay the amount to her with interest by Vadodara District Consumer Dispute Redressal Forum. 

Kamla Gupta, wife of late Shriram Gupta, who made and sold the famous snack Shriram Tamtam in the city, had made a FD of Rs 4,800 in Shramjivi Nagarik Sahakari Bank. When the FD matured after a year and she approached the bank with her husband, they were asked to wait for some more days and were assured that compound interest for the remaining days would also be paid on the FD. 

However, this did not happen and the bank kept dilly-dallying with payment of the maturity amount for some reason or the other. "They even said that my late grandfather had withdrawn the money, but could not produce any evidence," said Kamla's grandson Hitesh Gupta, who is also a lawyer. 

Eventually, Kamla moved the consumer forum in the year 2007. While neither the complainant nor the bank remained present for hearings, the consumer forum gave an order on the basis of the evidence provided by the complainant. The court has ordered the bank to pay the complainant an interest of 10 per cent from April 4, 1983, when the FD was made. It also ordered the bank to pay Rs 1,000 for causing mental agony and a similar amount as cost. 

courtesy : times of india

Urban co-op banks flex muscle, want sops from politicians, RBI

Urban cooperative banks in the state are banding together to form a strong lobby and use their clout to get sops from the Centre and state. In this, they are getting political support from the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) that is hoping to consolidate its rural power base by building inroads in towns and large urban areas.

At a two-day state-level conference of 551 banks organised at Nashik in November — to be attended by political bigwigs such as Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, Union Agriculture Minister and NCP chief Sharad Pawar and Chief Minister Ashok Chavan — the banks are expected to press for several concessions from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), state government and the Centre.

“We want relaxation of out-of-date regulatory mechanisms and income-tax exemption on our profits,” said Vishwas Thakur, the conference’s convenor and president of Nashik Urban Cooperative Bank.

The banks also want sanction for loans to directors and their relatives, sharing of profits with their boards of directors, an increase in the insurance cover offered by the the RBI on bank deposits and raising of the slab of tax deduction on interest from Rs 10,000 to Rs 25,000.

Though many of these banks have been mismanaged, there was substantial growth in their deposits even during the global slowdown. With rapid urbanisation in the state, the banks’ clout has only increased.

This is an opportunity for the NCP, which has been forced by rapid urbanisation to look beyond the rural areas.

NCP MP Supriya Sule, Pawar’s daughter, backed the conference in an attempt to get a foothold in the cooperative sector.

“The conference is an opportunity to discuss banks’ problems with policy makers. The idea is not to protect poorly managed banks, but to encourage those that are doing well,” said Sule.

courtesy : hindustan times

Rs.60 lakh looted from bank car in Maharashtra

Beed (Maharashtra), Oct 12 (IANS) In a daring operation, two people robbed Rs.60 lakh from a car transporting a bank's money in Maharashtra Tuesday evening, police said.

The cash, belonging to the Beed District Central Co-Operative Bank, was being taken from Beed to Shirur in a car by three bank officials.

They had withdrawn the cash from the State Bank of Hyderabad, according to Sudam G. Kuchekar of Beed Rural Police.

Around 5.30 p.m., when they were speeding along the Beed-Shirur highway, around 25 km from here, they were waylaid by two people on a motorcycle. As the vehicle was forced to stop, two people threw red chilli powder, blinded the bank officials and decamped with the cash.

The bank officials informed the local and district police authorities about the highway robbery even as top officials rushed to the scene of the crime.

The police have sealed off all entry-exist points in a bid to nab the culprits.

Beed is around 425 km to the northeast of Mumbai.

courtesy : sify news

UID data on bank account holders may help prevent money laundering

Indicating its seriousness in utilising the Unique Identity (UID) as a key to financial inclusion, the government is mulling amendments to the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) to include UID as proof of identity for mandatory Know-Your-Customer (KYC) norms by reporting entities such as banks.

The Unique Identity Authority of India (UIDAI) is in talks with the finance ministry to make necessary amendments to the PMLA, sources told The Indian Express. UIDAI officials are expected to meet finance ministry officials this week regarding the amendments. “The PMLA requires banks and other reporting entities to maintain a KYC record of all its customers. The amendment of PMLA is essential to make UID as a KYC detail,” the sources said.

According to the current practice under the PMLA, reporting entities — including banking company, financial institution, co-operative banks, housing finance institutions and non-banking financial companies — have to maintain client identification details. While an individual requires to furnish identification documents issued by government authorities — like a PAN, passport, voter’s ID, driving licence, defence ID card or photo ration card — for non-individual accounts of companies, various other documents are required.

courtesy : shruti sreevastava & www.indianexpress.com

RBI sets up expert group for granting new UCB licences

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) today set up an expert group to study granting of licences to new Urban Co-operative Banks (UCBs), a move that comes a few months after the central bank invited comments on entry of new banks.

The committee under the chairmanship of financial sector expert Y H Malegam would review the regulatory policy on setting up of new UCBs and lay down entry point norms for new UCBs.

As per the terms of reference, the seven-member expert panel would examine whether licensing could be restricted only to financially sound and well managed cooperative credit societies through conversion route.

"It was announced in the Annual Policy Statement 2010-11 to set up a committee comprising all stakeholders for studying the advisability of granting new urban co-operative banking licences under Section 22 of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949," the RBI said in a statement.

It would also make recommendations relating to the legal and regulatory structure to facilitate the growth of sound UCBs especially in the matter of raising capital consistent with cooperative principles, it said.

Besides, it would examine other issues incidental to licensing of UCBs and make appropriate recommendations, it said.

The other members of the high level expert group include National Bank of Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard) Chairman U C Sarangi, Principal Secretary Co-operation (Maharashtra) S K Goel, National Federation of Co-operative Urban Banks President H K Patil and Indira Gandhi National Open University Director K Elumalai.

Besides, professionals with expertise and experience in co-operative sector will also be drafted in the committee as special invitees, it said.

The panel would review the need for organization of new UCBs in the context of the existing legal framework for UCBs, the thrust on financial inclusion in the economic policy and proposed entry of new commercial banks into the banking space.

In August, RBI announced discussion paper on new banking licences and regulations for the same to foster greater competition.

"The Reserve Bank is considering providing licences to a limited number of new banks. A larger number of banks would foster greater competition, and thereby reduce costs and improve the quality of service," the central bank had said in the discussion paper.
courtesy : The Business Standard

Ahmedabad co-operative bank’s account manager arrested for fraud

After the director of Siddhi Cooperative Bank, the Kalupur police on Friday arrested the account manager of the bank in connection with a fraud involving bogus bank accounts worth Rs40 lakh.

Sources said the bogus accounts were opened to facilitate illegal transaction some of which also involved trading in the stock market.

According to Kalupur police, HM Goswami, a sub-inspector with Kathlal police station lodged a complaint that his brother's account was showing inflated amount, which was later withdrawn. They got to know of this when they received an account statement from Siddhi Cooperative Bank Ltd, Kalupur.

Saraswat Co-op Bank seeks nod for shares with premium

To ensure that its organic and inorganic growth plans are not hamstrung by the limitations of raising core capital that urban cooperative banks face, the Mumbai-headquartered Saraswat Co-operative Bank has moved the Central Government and the Reserve Bank of India for permission to issue shares at a premium to new members.

Currently, co-operative banks can strengthen their core (Tier-I) capital by issuing shares at face value, ranging from Rs 10 to Rs 100, and through plough-back of profits. The capital market is off-limits for them.

Now, the largest multi-state urban co-operative bank (UCB), which has 203 branches spread across Maharashtra, Karnataka, Goa, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Delhi, the bank wants to be able to issue shares at a premium instead of just at face value to substantially augment its capital base.

To be able to double its business to Rs 50,000 crore by March 2016 and also acquire co-operative banks (the bank has zeroed in on five acquisition targets), Saraswat Bank needs growth capital, which is currently a constraining factor, according to Mr Eknath K Thakur, Chairman of the bank.

"Though our book value far exceeds the face value, we cannot raise capital funds through the capital market through initial public offers. We also cannot charge a premium based on book value to new members subscribing to our share capital. Our bank, like most of the UCBs, has become capital starved. We have brought this to the notice of the Central Government as well as the RBI," he said.

To issue shares at a premium, Mr Thakur said, some regulations and laws will need to be urgently amended so that UCBs' growth is not hampered due to capital constraints.

On acquisitions, Mr Thakur said though RBI recently cancelled the licence of Vadodara-based Anyonya Co-operative Bank, Saraswat Bank was still interested in acquiring it as the former sowed the seeds for the co-operative movement in India way back in 1889. He pointed out that while shareholders of India's oldest co-operative bank and the Gujarat Government were for the amalgamation, the employees were opposed to it. Another bank which is on its acquisition radar is the Ichalkaranji UCB.

Between 2006 and 2009, Saraswat Cooperative Bank acquired seven UCBs. These banks had cumulative business of Rs 1,895 crore.

Courtesy : The Hindu Business Line 

Mumbai, Sept. 17

Nilambur Co-operative Urban Bank signs Intellect Core Banking Solution for Cooperative Banks from Polaris

Laser Soft Infosystems has announced that Nilambur Co-operative Urban Bank (NCUB) has signed Intellect Core Banking Solution (CBS) for Cooperative Banks, a comprehensive J2EE & SOA based real time, efficient and integrated core banking system from Polaris. The solution when implemented will enable NCUB customers to avail ATM, Net Banking, Mobile Banking and Remittance services.

The company made this announcement during the trading hours today, 16 September 2010.

courtesy : india infoline limited