ED summons 10 suspects in Andaman Cooperative Bank Loan scam

Port Blair, Aug 21 (PTI) The Enforcement Directorate has summoned 10 people who are suspects in the Andaman and Nicobar State Cooperative Bank Ltd (ANSCBL) loan irregularities case, an official said on Thursday.

The residents of Port Blair were asked to appear before ED’s Kolkata office for interrogation.

Speaking to PTI, a senior ED official said, “Those who were summoned were linked to shipping business, hospitality, construction and trading. Their examination is going on and it is based on their loan files from ANSCBL. We have found several discrepancies in their statements.” He said the ED also summoned a few bank officials for their role in ignoring collateral security while sanctioning hefty loans, accepting forged documents and for sanctioning high-value loans and overdrafts without proper justification.

“It was also noticed that properties were mortgaged multiple times against different loans and this proved that the bank grossly compromised its lending practice,” the official said.

On July 31, the ED has launched its first search operation in the archipelago and collected evidence which suggested that over Rs 500 crore was fraudulently obtained through more than 100 loans accounts.

A team of ED officers from Kolkata also visited the ANSCBL office at Maulana Azad Road and ex-Congress MP Kuldeep Rai Sharma’s house at Junglighat in Port Blair and examined various people. Sharma was the chairman of the ANSCBL.

The team also searched residents and offices of a few Port Blair businessmen and former employees of ANSCBL, including managing director K Murugan.

The ED started a parallel investigation after the CID on May 15 lodged an FIR against Sharma in connection with the ANSCBL loan scam.

Apart from Sharma, others named in the FIR include the cooperative bank’s former chairman, board members, directors, officials and several beneficiaries.

On July 18, the CID arrested Sharma in connection with the ANSCBL loan irregularities case. The Congress leader who formerly served as the chairman of ANSCBL was picked up from a private hospital in Port Blair where he was admitted due to health issues.

Since June 25, eight people have been arrested, including Murugan, in connection with the scam. PTI SN NN