NT Reporter
Panaji
The Enforcement Directorate (ED), Zonal Office Panaji, has filed a prosecution complaint before the Special Court, North Goa, under the provisions of
the Prevention of Money Laundering Act in connection with an alleged cheating case involving Rs 1.28 crore in a co-operative credit society.
The complaint has been filed against Uma Nilesh Hondad alias Uma Raju Helawar alias Uma, the then Zuarinagar branch manager of Sada Urban Co-operative Credit Society Ltd (SUCCSL), and five others. The matter is scheduled to be heard on March 13.
In July last year, the ED had provisionally attached two immovable properties in Vasco valued at Rs 1.05 crore while probing the money laundering case. The investigation was initiated on the basis of an FIR and subsequent chargesheet filed by the Goa police against Uma and others for alleged cheating, forgery and misappropriation of society funds amounting to Rs 1.28 crore.
The ED said the investigation revealed that Uma, in criminal conspiracy with others, abused her official position to siphon off funds from the society. The alleged modus operandi involved opening fake loan accounts in the names of unsuspecting members, creating fictitious gold loan accounts without pledged gold, misappropriating fixed deposits and forging signatures of senior officials to withdraw funds from the society’s bank account.
The ED said that the proceeds of crime were transferred to her personal accounts as well as to accounts of family members and associates, and were used for personal expenses and to acquire or release assets. The attached properties, comprised a commercial shop and a residential house in Vasco, were valued at Rs 1.05 crore.
