Even as the Centre on Friday launched confidence building measures in Jammu and Kashmir with Chief Secretary B.V.R. Subramanyam promising to ease restrictions in the undivided state following the decision to abrogate Article 370 and bifurcate the state, the crackdown by the Anti-corruption bureau, established under the Governors Rule in the state, has been intensified and moved beyond the boundaries of J&K.
The ACB had recently sent notice to PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti on allegations of political interference in bank appointments.
The agency on Friday registered a case against the management and officials of the J&K bank along with beneficiaries allegedly involved in the financial irregularities and loan fraud worth Rs 352.72 crore.
With the fresh crackdown, the total amount under investigation in the last one week is more than Rs 1,000 crore. On August 8, the ACB had launched a probe into a group of private builders where the amount under investigation was over Rs 600 crore.
The ACB, which has been investigating corruption charges against top officials in the state amid allegations of political interference in appointments in the bank, conducted searches at residential premises and office of Anish Mohd Rawther, promoter-director of leading spices company SA Rawther Spices private limited in Bengaluru.
Official sources said during verifications, it was revealed that the management at the corporate headquarters of the bank in Bengaluru and officials of the J&K Bank branch at Infantry Road in Bengaluru, allegedly gave loans worth crores of rupees to the spices firm bypassing all norms and procedures.
“During the course of verification, it came to fore that the company was dealing in import and export of spices and coffee. During the year 2002, the company had approached JK Bank Branch Infantry Road, Bengaluru for a loan and the bank initially sanctioned a loan amount of Rs 2 crore against collateral security of three properties valued at Rs 10 crore. In the subsequent years from 2012 onwards, the bank increased limits of different types of loans enormously, which arose upto Rs 308.13 crore in 2015 against increased mortgage value to Rs 147.43 crore,” said an official statement.
The officials said that the then branch head of J&K bank in Bengaluru processed and facilitated approval by J&K Bank headquarters against collateral property highly disproportionate to the loan amount.
“The loan amount of Rs 308.13 crore was increased bypassing all norms and safeguards laid down by the J&K Bank. The company failed to repay loan on regular interval,” it said.
During the investigations, a team of the ACB in J&K obtained search warrants from the Anti-Corruption Court in Srinagar and after being endorsed by the courts in North Bengaluru, conducted extensive searches at the residential premises and office of Rawther. During the searches, various incriminating documents and electronic evidences were recovered and seized by the team. Further investigations were going on, said the official sources.