CEO booked in mortgage fraud case reprieved by Bombay High Court

CEO booked in mortgage fraud case reprieved by Bombay High Court

Anticipatory bail granted by the Bombay High Court to the Chief Executive Officer of Raigad Sahakari Bank who is booked in a fraud case of Rs. 3.18 crores, HC found that the CEO was misled by the forged documents and had no role to play in the fraud.

The fraud came to the knowledge of the bank when one of its account holders named Jayashree Sawant acquired communication from a financial institutionto compensate the mortgage loan of Rs. 5.75 lakhs.

On receiving the information from Ms Sawant, the Kalachowky police station registered a complaint. Ms Sawant alleged that a person named Adavkar had forged her name on the life insurance policies and took a mortgage loan on her behalf.

In the investigation, it was revealed that loans of Rs. 3.18 crores were disbursed by the financial institution in forged names of 124 residents of Mumbai. Police arrested the officers of the financial institution and some other people who are connected with this fraud.

CEO of the financial institution moved to the HC pleading that even though the loans were sanctioned through him but he relied on the reports submitted to him by the subordinates of the institution. He contended that original and forged documents are almost similar and a prudent man can't differentiate between the two. He named some officials along with Advakar who was an agent of the institution and pleaded for pre-arrest bail before the HC.

The contention of CEO was opposed by the assistant public prosecutor Ms Pallavi Dabholkar whereby she mentioned that Sanjay Sawant, CEO Raigad Sahakari Bank, had appointed Adavkar and Mr Sawant who had planned the fraudis the main accused in this case. She further denied accepting that the CEO had no role in this fraud case.

HC granted interim relief from arrest to the financial institution's CEO. He was booked in connection to a mortgage fund fraud case that has disbursed Rs. 3.18 crores of loans for casting life insurance coverage policies that were drawn in the false identity of 124 residents of Mumbai.

Justice Sarang Kotwal founded that the charge-sheet filed in June against the accused had no specific reference of the indulgence of Mr Sawant in this case. The Judge concluded that there could be possibilities that Mr Sawant was misled by the forged documents and couldn't differentiate them from the originals. Hence, the Court granted interim anticipatory bail to the CEO of the institution.