In simultaneous raids carried out at seven locations in Mumbai and Ahmedabad, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials on Saturday seized proceeds of alleged crimes worth Rs. 13.50 Crore in connection with an alleged fraud in the Nashik Merchant Cooperative (NAMCO) Bank, in Malegaon town in north Maharashtra.
Acting on a complaint registered with Malegaon Chavani Police Station in Nashik district of Maharashtra on November 7 against NAMCO Bank, the ED conducted raids on seven locations in Mumbai and Ahmedabad and made the seizure of Rs. 13.50 crore.
It may be recalled that following a complaint, the police had lodged a FIR last month on mystery deposits of huge money of more than Rs 100 Crore in 14 newly-opened bank accounts at the NAMCO Bank.
In its FIR, the police named the prime suspect as Siraj Harun Memon, who operates a hot and cold beverages agency, and his accomplices who used “identity documents of various innocent persons (obtained by false promises / monetary considerations) to layer and transfer the proceeds of the crime”.
Upping the ante over the case, Bharatiya Janata Party’s former MP Kirit Somaiya alleged that the case was an alleged ‘Vote-Jihad’ matter and suspicious transactions took place in multiple states just weeks before the November 20 2024 Maharashtra Assembly polls. The investigations by the ED revealed that at least five similar accounts were also maintained with the Bank of Maharashtra (BoM) Nashik Branch.
During its investigations, the ED went into the money trail of ‘debit transactions’ made through various modes of online banking channels from the 14 accounts at NAMCO Bank and the 5 accounts with BoM. The ED found during its investigations that a majority of the funds through the debit transactions from these accounts were transferred to 21 sole proprietary concerns.
A detailed analysis of the bank statements of the 21 sole proprietor-concerns where the hundreds of crores of rupees of funds were transferred through online banking channels, and these in turn were further routed to various other firms/companies said to be fake accounts. Subsequently, the analysis revealed that the huge monies were withdrawn in cash from these dummy accounts, including by Nagani Akram Shafi and Vasim V. Bhesaniya.
The duo then distributed the cash to various entities through ‘angadiyas’ (traditional personal couriers) or ‘hawala’ operators in Ahmedabad, Surat and Mumbai.The ED contended that the Bhesania-Shafi duo, later arrested for money-laundering charges, worked under instructions of one Mehmood Bhagad alias Challenger King.
In November, the ED had carried out around 25 searches in Ahmedabad, Surat, Nashik and Mumbai and laid its hands on bank balances of Rs 5.20 crore, plus incriminating documents, digital evidence, bank deposits and other deals, etc.