Mumbai court frames charges against ex-NCP MLC, seven others in money laundering case

Mumbai, Nov 7 (PTI) A special court here has framed charges against former NCP MLC Anil Shivajirao Bhosale and seven others in a money laundering case linked to an alleged fraud of more than Rs 71 crore at a Pune-based cooperative bank.

The charges against the accused, which will pave the way for the commencement of trial in the case, were framed under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) on Thursday.

Former MLC Bhosale, the main promoter-director of the Shivajirao Bhosale Cooperative Bank in Pune, appeared through video conferencing and pleaded not guilty.

The other accused, including the bank's director, Suryaji Pandurang Jadhav and Nusrat Shanur Mujawar, also pleaded not guilty.

During a previous hearing in the case, special PMLA judge Satyanarayan Ramjivan Navandar had ruled that "there is sufficient material available against all the accused to frame charges".

The money laundering case stems from a first information report (FIR) registered by the Pune police based on a complaint lodged by the statutory auditor of the cooperative bank.

According to the Enforcement Directorate, the accused allegedly siphoned off cash from the bank in multiple ways on oral instructions without any official entry or record in the core banking system.

They also misappropriated funds from the bank by transferring huge sums to themselves and related parties and fraudulently disbursed loans, the probe agency stated.

It claimed that the accused siphoned off Rs 71.78 crore from the bank between 2016 and 2019, primarily through irregular loan approvals, which led to a total Non-Performing Asset (NPA) amount of Rs 494,45,19,130 from depositors' funds.

The key managerial persons of the bank treated the institution and its funds as their family concern and utilised the siphoned funds for their personal gains, the ED has alleged. PTI AVI ARU