Home department goes after credit society directors to recover defrauded funds
Mumbai: The state home department has ordered the attachment of properties of 18 persons accused in a ₹33.95-crore scam in Jaimuni Cooperative Patpedhi Limited, a Vasai-based credit society. Apartments, land parcels and commercial properties owned by the accused – including developers, businessmen and directors and office-bearers of the credit society – will be auctioned to recover the deposits of account holders in the credit society, as per the notification issued by the home department last week.
The notification was issued under sections 4(1) and 5(1) of the Maharashtra Protection of Interest of Depositors (MPID) Act, 1999, which authorise the government to recover the amount defrauded from depositors by selling properties of the accused including directors and employees of financial institutions.
The notification was issued after the economic offences wing of the Mira-Bhayandar Vasai-Virar police and the Palghar collector submitted reports on properties of the accused to the home department. The reports were submitted following directions from the special MPID court in Palghar which is hearing the case.
Properties that will be attached include 17 flats and two houses of Jaywant Naik, the main accused; 6.11 acres of land belonging to developer Avinash Dhole; and an apartment owned by businessman Mintu Shah. The list also includes residential apartments of the credit society's former chief executive officer Rajesh Rawal; former chairman Vasant Naik and his son Swapnil Naik; deputy chairman Nitin Patil; directors Krishna Naik, Kumar Naik, Pratibha Naik, Surendra Raut, Vasant Joshi, Hemlata Naik, Manohar Patil and Vijay Baswant; and employee Manisha Mhatre.
The properties will be attached and auctioned by the sub-divisional officer of Palghar, who has been appointed as competent authority in the case, said a senior official from the home department.
'The valuation of the properties has been done by the Collector's office,' the official said. The money recovered from the auction will be distributed among 408 depositors who cumulatively lost ₹33.95 crore, in keeping with their investments, the official noted.
'The home department is also planning to amend the MPID Act to hike the penalty and imprisonment for the accused from the existing ₹1 lakh fine and/ or six years of imprisonment,' he said.
The scam came to light in June 2018 after depositors filed complaints regarding Jaimuni Cooperative Patpedhi Limited not returning their deposits. The credit society's financial troubles began after some directors approved loans to purchase 159 flats in buildings owned by Avinash Dhole and other builders. While many of the flats had already been mortgaged by their original buyers, fresh loans were advanced in the name of local vegetable vendors via collusion between Dhole, Jaywant Naik and Mintu Shah, who produced forged documents, and Vasant Naik, Nitin Patil and Rajesh Rawal, who approved the loans.
Rajesh Naik, director of the reconstituted board of Jaimuni Cooperative Patpedhi Limited, said some former directors of the society were directly involved in the scam while others were guilty of omission of duty and did not secure any financial benefits.
'Our management analysed 3,800 transactions to establish the money trail which helped the investigating agency frame charges,' said Naik.
The reconstituted credit society has been allotted A grade in its audit.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Economic Times
18 minutes ago
- Economic Times
Slice SFB aiming to close FY26 in the black; not looking to raise any capital
Slice Small Finance Bank has turned profitable on a monthly basis and is aiming to close FY26 in the black, a top official has said. The entity, which came out of a surprising merger between the fintech Slice and the North East SFB a few months ago, is adequately capitalised and not looking to raise any capital, its executive director Rajan Bajaj told PTI. The current focus is to build a pan-India business using the low-cost digital channels, and the entity is not interested in any more mergers, Bajaj said, adding that it may look at transitioning to a universal bank in the next five years. Before the merger, the North East SFB had reported a loss of Rs 441 crore, and Slice was also reporting losses. "We have turned profitable post-tax on a monthly basis and will close the year in profits," Bajaj said. The bank is adequately capitalised and the buffers will also be supported by the profits, he added. As per recent media reports, the bank was aiming to raise up to USD 300 million in capital. It is adding up to 3 lakh new accounts to its base on the back of digital journeys, Bajaj said, pointing out that the savings bank interest rate offering is at par with the RBI's repo rate and the fixed deposit offerings are a notch higher, which is helping in attracting customers. The pace of account opening is the fifth or the sixth fastest in the industry and at par with much bigger rivals, he said. On the lending front, it does consumer credit including unsecured personal loans and business credit which includes loans against property, he said, stressing that the focus is on serving people who may be underserved by the banking system. Aiming for a big increase in its borrowers and loan portfolio, the bank launched a UPI-based credit card on Saturday, Bajaj said, pointing out that over 30 crore of UPI users can be the potential target audience for such an offering. The bank stands to make an interchange of up to 1 per cent depending on where the credit facility is availed, and will also make revenues from rollovers and fees, he said. Bajaj said its personal credit vertical has been able to deliver credit at a cost which is a tenth of the industry courtesy digital inputs, and added that the credit costs are also 30 per cent lower than the industry average because of the analytics engine which is used for diligence. The bank also launched a 'UPI-powered bank branch' in Bengaluru, which can be used by any bank's customers for a slew of transactions, including cash deposits into any account using cash accepting machine, and then remitting the money to any mobile number, Bajaj said.
&w=3840&q=100)
Business Standard
an hour ago
- Business Standard
Amul becomes top Indian food brand, Mother Dairy second: Check full list
Gujarat's dairy cooperative Amul has retained its position as India's top food brand with a brand value of $4.1 billion, according to the latest Brand Finance report. Delhi-based Mother Dairy followed in second place, with a brand value of $1.15 billion. The ranking by UK-based consultancy Brand Finance places Britannia at third, Karnataka's Nandini dairy cooperative at fourth, and FMCG major Dabur at fifth in the list of India's top food brands. Amul, marketed by the Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF), also improved its standing in Brand Finance's list of top 100 Indian brands across all industries, securing the 17th rank. Mother Dairy climbed six places to reach the 35th position, up from 41st in the previous edition. Jayen Mehta, Managing Director of GCMMF, attributed the achievement to collective farmer efforts and consumer trust. 'It reflects the collective efforts of millions of dairy farmers and our unwavering commitment to providing high-quality, affordable food and dairy products to consumers,' he said. 'As Amul continues to grow and expand its footprint, both in India and internationally, this achievement reinforces our responsibility to uphold the trust placed in us by generations of Indian households,' Mehta added. Manish Bandlish, Managing Director of Mother Dairy, called the recognition 'a testament to our collective efforts,' and dedicated it to the company's consumers, farmers, partners, and employees. 'Our rise among top five Indian food brands and also in India's top 100 brands across industries reflects more than numbers — it reflects the trust earned, relevance sustained, and the resilience of a brand that continues to evolve,' he said. Earlier, in an interview with Business Standard, Bandlish had talked about the expansion plan of the company, saying, 'The board has already approved around ₹1,500 crore of investment combined in terms of Safal and dairy.' In FY25, Mother Dairy has seen FY25 close at revenues of ₹17,400 crore with a 16 per cent growth. Here's the full list of Top 100 Indian Brands: 1 Tata Group 2 Infosys 3 HDFC Group 4 LIC Group 5 Reliance Group 6 SBI Group 7 HCLTech 8 Airtel 9 Larsen & Toubro Group 10 Mahindra Group 11 Wipro Group 12 Jio Group 13 Adani Group 14 ICICI Group 15 Bajaj Group 16 Indian Oil 17 Amul 18 Axis Bank 19 Tanishq 20 Hindustan Petroleum 21 Bharat Petroleum 22 Maruti Suzuki 23 Bank Of Baroda 24 Kotak Mahindra 25 ITC Group 26 Punjab National Bank Group 27 Union Bank of India 28 Hero 29 Asian Paints 30 Canara Bank 31 Indigo 32 JSW Group 33 ONGC 34 Dmart 35 Mother Dairy 36 Britannia 37 TVS 38 Nandini 39 Zomato 40 Godrej Group 41 Motherson 42 Vedanta 43 Indian Bank 44 IndusInd Bank 45 Royal Enfield 46 Hexaware Technologies 47 Bank of India 48 Persistent Systems 49 HMEL 50 GAIL 51 MRF 52 Ashok Leyland 53 Taj 54 Coal India 55 Dabur 56 Westside 57 IDBI Bank 58 SAIL 59 National Stock Exchange India 60 Apollo Tyres 61 Sun Pharma 62 Pidilite 63 Mphasis 64 UPL 65 Federal Bank 66 Indus Towers 67 Berger Paints 68 Air India 69 Bandhan Bank 70 Zetwerk 71 Croma 72 MRPL 73 Havells 74 Dixon Technologies 75 Coforge 76 BSNL 77 Zee 78 Bharat Heavy Electricals 79 Voltas 80 Raymond 81 Max Life Insurance 82 Shree Cement 83 Nerolac 84 Zensar 85 Ceat 86 Cipla 87 Indian Overseas Bank 88 Sonata Software 89 JK Tyres 90 Yes Bank 91 Patanjali 92 Suzlon Energy 93 BKT 94 RBL Bank 95 Central Bank of India 96 Sun Tv 97 Mastek 98 Birlasoft 99 Biocon 100 Lupin
The Wire
an hour ago
- The Wire
Telangana Set to Become Third State to Introduce Legislation for Gig and Platform Workers
The state is home to about 4.20 lakh workers employed as cab, auto and bike drivers, delivery persons of e-commerce companies, besides home service workers. The Telangana government had already put forth the draft bill, titled 'Telangana Gig and Platform Workers (Registration, Social Security and Welfare) Act, 2025', in public domain and invited suggestions. As many as 67 suggestions were received and they have all been incorporated in the fine tuned document which will be discussed at the next meeting of the state cabinet before it is formally tabled in the legislature, said labour minister G. Vivek Venkatswamy. Venkatswamy, on Friday (June 26), held a stakeholders meeting that was attended by aggregators, workers, trade union leaders and civil society representatives to explain the objective of the government. As a first step, he said the government will make it mandatory for the aggregators to register the workers and send the data to a board to be constituted under the law. It will be a tripartite board with representation from government, aggregators and workers. "A one to two per cent cess will be collected from workers which will go to a welfare fund for them to be maintained by the board. This will eliminate financial burden on aggregators. As a next step, the government will explore ways to introduce minimum wages for workers," Vivek remarked. He added that the new law was contemplated in deference to the wish of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi during his Bharat Jodo Yatra. Telangana is home to about 4.20 lakh workers employed as cab, auto and bike drivers, delivery persons of e-commerce companies such as Amazon, Flipkart, Swiggy, Zomato, Blinkit and Porter besides home service workers of Urban Company. Nearly 1.25 lakh of them are drivers, 1.60 lakh delivery boys and the rest work in other app based services. The wage earnings of the workers are highly unpredictable due to frequent changes in the rate cards for every set of service and every aggregator. The charges are determined by algorithmic calculations designed by the apps and are changed arbitrarily by the aggregators. A cab driver Syed Abdul Rawoof told The Wire that he earned only Rs 8 to 11 per kilometre of ride during non-peak hours in the absence of a fixed rate card whereas the auto drivers were assured Rs. 13 per kilometre and a minimum fare of Rs. 20. With such paltry earnings, Rawoof questioned his ability to pay monthly installments of loan on the purchase of his Rs 12 lakh car, meet diesel charges and make a living. The earnings picked up substantially, both for drivers and aggregators, in peak hours but the heavy traffic conditions and slow movement of vehicles which consumed higher fuel ate into them. The drivers were also penalised by police for traffic violations besides facing the threat of complaints by customers which often resulted in blocking their accounts. Police complaints for loss of articles of customers in cars was another nightmare haunting many drivers. In the case of delivery boys of e-commerce portals, their rating was downgraded for delays in reaching out to customers. One of them, T. Surender Reddy, said they were paid Rs 1 or 2 per kilometre in the first mile up to reaching a restaurant or any other pick up point after receiving the order and they get Rs 4 per kilometre in the second mile from the restaurant to the place of destination. Any loss of time in delivery due to obstructions on account of traffic signals will result in their rating going down. They are rated by gold, silver and bronze markers for the purpose of incentives and medical insurance. Festive seasons and Indian Premier League cricket matches afford them heavy incentives. It is mental torture on roads as they received spam and voice messages from the aggregators for slow movement. Surender said that he worked for 14 to 16 hours a day with such pressure. Santosh Kumar, a cab driver, said that customers on rides to the airport often pester them to drive fast but the speed guns at the airport are a bottleneck. He said that he ended up receiving challan of Rs. 1,000 each time for overspeeding. The founder president of Telangana Gig and Platform Workers Union, Shaik Salauddin, said that they have been demanding minimum business guarantee for the workers and fair wages. He expressed hope that the new law would address the issue. The union also demanded minimum wages, legal recognition and mandatory registration of workers and algorithmic transparency from app based platforms. Rakshitha Swamy, founder of Safar, an organisation working for gig workers said the workers are treated like "freelance contractors", which was a deterrent to framing a tight policy framework. The draft bill was made public inviting suggestions of stakeholders up to April 28. The bill mentioned the rights of workers, income security, work conditions, transparency in automated monitoring, social security and a welfare fund. The Wire is now on WhatsApp. Follow our channel for sharp analysis and opinions on the latest developments.
