New India Bank Fraud: Ex-Chairman, Wife Declared Proclaimed Offenders

Mumbai, Apr 3 (PTI) A court in Mumbai has declared New India Cooperative Bank's former chairman Hiren Bhanu and his wife Gauri Bhanu as proclaimed offenders in connection with the Rs 122 crore embezzlement case, a police official said on Thursday.
The Bhanu couple fled the country separately days before the embezzlement case came to light in February.
The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the city police, which is probing the case, has so far arrested eight persons, including the bank's former General Manager Hitesh Mehta and former CEO Abhimanyu Bhoan.
"The EOW had moved an application before the court seeking that Bhanu and his wife be declared as proclaimed offenders. The court has accepted the plea," an official told PTI.
The court had earlier issued a non-bailable warrant against the duo, he said.
While Hiren Bhanu fled the country on January 26, his wife and the bank's former vice-chairperson Gauri Bhanu left on February 10, just a few days before the scam came to light.

"As both of them are out of the country, and finding their location was necessary for the probe, a Blue Corner Notice was issued against them earlier," the official said.
A search was also conducted at their owned and rented apartments in south Mumbai, he added.
Police have conducted polygraph and brain mapping tests on Hitesh Mehta, who was arrested on February 15. The report of the brain mapping test is yet to be received, he said.
"During the investigation, the EOW decided to conduct a forensic audit in the case, and the process of appointing an auditor will be initiated soon," he said.
In the probe, the EOW officials found that many of the loan accounts, which are classified as Non Performing Assets (NPA) were sold to one Omkara Assets Reconstruction Company (ARC). In some cases, the bank received a lesser amount from the company after selling the properties that were mortgaged for the actual loan amount," the official said.
In one case, theA loan amount was Rs 30 crore, but the bank received only Rs 2 to 3 crore from the ARC, he said.
The EOW officials will call senior ARC officials to know the reasons behind receiving less amounts, the official said.