Loan fraud: ED attaches assets of former Indian Bank branch manager in TN

The central probe agency said in a statement on Thursday that it has attached 22 immovable properties worth Rs 1.63 crore of K Pandiyarajan and his family members under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

"The attached immovable properties are in the form of agricultural land measuring 14.93 acres in Vilpatti village of Kodaikanal and 11.18 acres of land in other parts of Tamil Nadu (Dindigul, Madurai, Sivagangai and Tiruvallur), 18,064.75 sq feet of housing plots in various parts of Tamil Nadu and 2,979 sq feet of land and building in Madurai," the ED said. 

It said a criminal case under the PMLA was filed against Pandiyarajan and a few others on the basis of a CBI FIR against them for "defrauding Indian Bank at Kodaikanal and Paramakudi amounting to Rs 2.85 crore." 

"Probe found Pandiyarajan, as Manager of the Kodaikanal branch of Indian Bank in 2012-13, conspired with Venkatesh Kannan and Jeyapaul Thomasraj (private persons) to cheat the bank by sanctioning housing loans amounting to Rs 60.77 lakh fraudulently in the names of Venkatesh Kannan and others," the agency claimed.

This money was utilised to purchase a big parcel of land in Kodaikanal, which was further divided into plots, it added. Many of these plots were registered in the name of Pandiyarajan's wife, Kannan, Thomasraj and K Athinarayanan without any monetary consideration, it said.

"The remaining plots were sold to various persons and no construction was carried out by the loanees and none of the sanctioned housing loans were re-paid, thereby causing loss to Indian Bank," the ED said. 

Pandiyarajan, the ED alleged, had similarly sanctioned loans during his tenure as chief manager/branch manager of the Paramakkudi branch of the bank and had "fraudulently sanctioned housing loans in the names of K Athinarayanan and R Dhanalakshmi and also business loans for their non-existent firms during the year 2015." 

"The proceeds of all these four loans were diverted by Athinarayanan to various accounts controlled by him (bank manager) and utilised for other purposes," it said.