PMC Bank Scam: Ex-Director and prime accused Daljit Singh Bal arrested, EOW to get custody

In a recent update to the Punjab and Maharashtra Cooperative (PMC) Bank fraud case, one of the prime accused, Daljit Singh Bal was arrested by the Immigration Team from the Bihar-Nepal border during the evening hours of February 2, 2022. The key suspect was caught in Bihar when he was trying to sneak into Nepal.

The Mumbai Police informed that the Economic Offences Wing (EOW), Mumbai team has left for Bihar to take him into custody. It is learnt that he was held along with his son and wife while attempting to flee India. 

According to sources, Bal and his family members were travelling in a luxury car and were in the position of boarding a Canada flight from Kathmandu. They were caught near the Raxaul region of Bihar, bordering Nepal. 

PMC Bank Scam

In September 2019, the fraud at PMC Bank came to light when the Reserve Bank of India discovered that to hide over Rs 4,355 crore of loans extended to almost-bankrupt Housing Development and Infrastructure Limited (HDIL), the bank had allegedly created fictitious accounts. 

According to RBI, the PMC bank tampered with its core banking system by masking 44 problematic loan accounts, including those of HDIL. It was learnt that these accounts were accessible only to selected staff members.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Mumbai Police's Economic Offences Wing had registered offences against senior bank officials of PMC and HDIL promoters.

Earlier in September 2021, ED had mentioned that it has attached partly-paid compulsorily convertible preference shares worth Rs 233 crore of HDIL group companies in the alleged multi-crore-rupee PMC bank fraud and money-laundering case.

It said "on the strength" of these shares, HDIL had the rights for allotment of under-construction flats measuring 90,250 square feet FSI (floor space index) in Mumbai's Ghatkopar of developer Aryaman Developers Private Limited.

Image: Republic World