ED adjudicating authority confirms attachment of property of fraudster Borkar
| Date :01-May-2019 |
By Dheeraj Fartode:
The case, as per the sources, is that Borkar had forged documents of over 120 farmers and applied for Kisan Credit Card (KCC) in the Gondegaon Branch of UCO Branch
Prashant Borkar, a private agent who had swindled Rs. 2.70 crore from Gondegaon branch of UCO, suffered a set back after the adjudicating authority under Prohibition of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) upheld order of Enforcement Directorate (ED) to attach his properties. Borkar had committed the fraud in connivace with top officials of the branch. Sources informed that the fraud came to fore during internal audit of the bank.
An offence under Sections 420 and 471 and 120 (b) of Indian Penal Code (IPC) was registered at Kanhan Police Station in year 2012 and the then Bank Manager Anand Pardikar (49) and Assistant Manager Shrikant Manohar Joshi (36) were also charged for the crime along with Borkar, a private agent and a resident of Kalamna. The police had managed to recover Rs 1.30 crore from the accused during preliminary phase of investigation. Simultaneously, ED had registered Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) in year 2016 and undertook probe. After investigating the case, ED attached four acre land (worth Rs 75 lakh) registered in the name of Borkar in Parseoni tehsil.
The ED came to the conclusion that the accused persons have committed an offence of money laundering under Section 3 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act and accordingly attached the properties under section 5(1) of the Act, sources informed. The case, as per the sources, is that Borkar had forged documents of over 120 farmers and applied for Kisan Credit Card (KCC) in the Gondegaon Branch of UCO Branch. Manager Pardikar and Assistant Manger Joshi had approved the applications and disbursed the KCCs under the initiative of Union Government to ensure that farmers of the country have access to credit at an affordable rate. It was learnt that Borkar himself took the KCCs in his possession and withdrew Rs 2.70 crore in the name of farmers. Pardikar and Joshi got around 7 per cent to 8 per cent of the total amount as commission while rest of the amount was siphoned off by Borkar.
Borkar continuously duping banks
Registration of offences does not matter for fraudster Prashant Borkar as he is a serial accused in duping banks even after registration of offences against him. Borkar had committed two more frauds worth crores of rupees after registration of the offences. Recently, he was booked by Economic Offences Wing (EoW) for duping IDBI Bank to the tune of Rs 1.34 crore. He forged papers and received loan of Rs 1.34 crore from Mankapur Branch of IDBI in the name of 16 people in year 2013.