Former NCP MLC .l Bhosale’s bail plea rejected in connection with the Rs 494 crore Shivajirao Bhosale Sahakari Bank fraud | Representative Photo
Mumbai: The special court for cases against MPs and MLAs has rejected the bail plea of former NCP MLC .l Bhosale, 60, for his role in the Rs 494 crore Shivajirao Bhosale Sahakari Bank fraud case as its chairman.
Bhosale had sought bail on the ground of incarceration since March 5, 2021 without trial. It was also argued that the entire dispute is of civil nature and merely pertains to recovery.
As per the bail petition, the loans allegedly sanctioned by Bhosale are being recovered and recovery certificates of more than Rs 400 crore have already been issued. Thus, no prima facie case of money laundering is made out against Bhosale, as per the plea.
The plea was opposed by the Enforcement Directorate, which said that Bhosale had the “sole authority of the bank”. As per the agency, he and the other accused devised a well-planned conspiracy to standardise the non-performing assets (NPA) in the bank.
Later, the cheque discounting facility was treated as loan extended to others, the ED said, adding that several fraudulent loans were sanctioned for the personal benefits of the accused.
As per the ED, there were 432 NPA accounts and the outstanding principal amount was Rs 392 crore. Total proceeds of crime used by Bhosale have been pegged at Rs 147.30 crore.
On the argument of delay in trial, the court noted that Bhosale had filed a plea for discharge, which took a long time before it was finally withdrawn by him. Rejecting the bail, the court said, “At this stage, if the applicant, who is the mastermind of this deep-rooted conspiracy and commission of offence, is released on bail, there is every possibility that the money would again be used… as a legitimate source through other businesses. Then it would be a very difficult and time-consuming task to trace the trail,” the court noted.
The court stated that the alleged financial scam is huge and of a serious nature, involving the interest of a large number of people. It called the scam “pre-planned and well-designed” with Bhosale being its architect, justifying his custody for further investigation.
