The crackdown by the Income Tax Department and Enforcement Directorate has now brought the district central cooperative (DCC) banks across the state under the scanner.
In a shocking revelation, deposits of over Rs 500 crore were made in certain DCC banks across the state between November 9 and 14, the Times of India reported.
Of the Rs 500 crore, the DCC bank in Bagalkot alone had cash deposits of Rs 162 crore and the amounts deposited were between Rs 25 lakh and Rs 2 crore. The bank in Bagalkot is said to have had the highest deposits made soon after Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes were demonetized, the report adds.
Another interesting find during the raids was that the management of the DCC bank in Bagalkot involves several politicians. Former Congress minister Ajaykumar Sarnaik is the bank’s chairman and former ministers in Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s government including HY Meti, SR Patil and also BJP’s newly elected MLC Hanumanth Nirani are the bank’s directors, the TOI report said.
The huge deposits at the DCC banks in Bagalkot have surprised the I-T and ED officials as agriculture has severely taken a beating in the state, which has been drought-hit, the report states.
The I-T officials had inspected the Belagavi Cooperative Bank on Thursday, and found huge deposits. The bank management there involved several politicians as well. The inspection revealed that the bank, which had accumulated huge losses and non-performing assets, suddenly had crores of deposits made within six days, the TOI reported.
The situation was not different in Dharwad, Gadag and Haveri either. The ED sleuths will now verify accounts in DCC banks located in Bellary, Mandya, Shivamogga, Kolar and Dakshina Kannada districts as well, the report said.
However, the bank manager of the DCC bank in Dharwad told TOI that there were no fraudulent activities in the bank and that the inspection of transactions was only to verify whether unaccounted money had been deposited in cooperative bank accounts.
Registrar of cooperative societies M K Aiyappa said that I-T and ED officials have refused to share any information with them so far, TOI reported.