A major fraud case has surfaced involving the head of the department and two managers at Spacewood in MIDC, resulting in a misappropriation of Rs 1.19 crore. The MIDC Police have booked Vinay Nilkanth Gharote, the head of the company’s institutional sales department from Shivaji Nagar; Senior Manager Shrikant Vinayakrao Bondre, from Pawanbhoomi and Manager Vikrant Vinayakrao Kapse from Hiwri Lay-Out, on the complaint of Director Vivek Moreshwar Deshpande (52) from Amrit Geeta Apartment, Shivaji Nagar. Spacewood Furnitures Private Limited Company was established in MIDC in 1996 by Vivek Deshpande and Kirit Joshi. The company specialises in manufacturing and selling modular furniture and its components. Vinay was granted power of attorney over the company’s operations, including approval of project expenses.

 

During the audit of the company’s accounts for the period 2022-2023, discrepancies were discovered and it was revealed that excessive amounts were charged compared to the work orders. Upon closer examination of bills from April 2018 to March 31, 2023, it came to fore that various contractors had been overcharged for furniture installation services. Moreover, additional fees were imposed for tasks such as material transportation and relocation. These irregularities were allegedly approved by Vinay Gharote, with the involvement of two others.

 

Further investigation into the complaint led to the scrutiny of contractors’ bank account statements which revealed major sums transferred to the accused parties. For instance, Shrikant Bondre and his wife received Rs 9.53 lakh from contractor Prakash Kadam’s firm, while Rs 3.31 lakh was deposited from Lavanya Enterprises. Similarly, M/s Furniture Studio, owned by Vikrant Kapse and his wife Snehal, received Rs 31.27 lakh, Rs 35 lakhs from Om Enterprises, Rs 20 lakhs from the account of Design and Service and some amount was transferred from account of One Point furniture solutions. A total of Rs 1,19,37,700/- was transferred to the account of these three. In light of these findings, a case has been registered against the accused under various sections of Indian Penal Code.