ED seizes assets worth ₹333.82 crore in cooperative society fraud case | Mumbai news

Mumbai: The Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) Mumbai zonal office has provisionally attached assets worth ₹333.82 crore in a money-laundering investigation involving alleged fraud at Dnyanradha Multistate Co-operative Credit Society Ltd (DMCSL). The assets, attached on Tuesday, include land, buildings, plant and machinery of two dairy-based firms in Satara and Ahmednagar.

₹333.82 crore in a money-laundering investigation. (Getty image)” title=”The Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) Mumbai zonal office has provisionally attached assets worth ₹333.82 crore in a money-laundering investigation. (Getty image)” /> ₹333.82 crore in a money-laundering investigation. (Getty image)” title=”The Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) Mumbai zonal office has provisionally attached assets worth ₹333.82 crore in a money-laundering investigation. (Getty image)” />

The total value of seizures, freezing and attachments in the case has reached ₹1,433.48 crore. The ED’s investigation revealed that DMCSL’s management allegedly embezzled funds by fraudulently diverting ₹2,467.89 crore, deemed proceeds of crime, under the guise of loans to various companies.

According to the ED, DMCSL was managed and controlled by individuals including Suresh Kute and Yashvant Kulkarni. The society allegedly attracted more than four lakh investors by offering deposit schemes with interest rates between 12 and 14 per cent. However, investors received either no payment or only partial payments upon maturity of their deposits.

The investigation found that Kute and others allegedly conspired to divert funds amounting to ₹2,467.89 crore as loans to companies within The Kute Group, owned by Kute and his wife. “Upon the disbursement of these fraudulent loan amounts, the funds were siphoned off through several accounts of the entities of Kute Group or directly in the form of cash. The funds received from society were further utilised for their own personal benefits like investment in new businesses, purchasing property and personal expenses,” an ED official said.

The ED had previously conducted searches on August 9, September 20 and October 14 this year, freezing and seizing movable assets worth approximately ₹10.99 crore. Earlier provisional attachment orders were issued for assets worth ₹85.88 crore on September 24 and ₹1,002.79 crore on October 9.

The investigation was initiated following multiple cases registered between May and July this year at various police stations across the state. These cases were filed under sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Maharashtra Protection of Interest of Depositors Act, concerning alleged fraud committed against investors by Kute and others through DMCSL.