Inquiry report exposes irregularities in Nemom Service Cooperative Bank

Thiruvananthapuram: An inquiry into the irregularities surrounding Nemom Service Cooperative Bank, held as per Section 65 of Kerala Co-operative Societies Act, revealed fraud committed by members of the society's administrative panel.

The report states that the bank received investments worth Rs 112 crore and Rs 52 crore were given as loans. Most of these loans were benefited by the accused and also by people close to them. However, not even a single penny was repaid, the report said.

As per report, former secretary Balachandran Nair's wife P K Sreekala took loans worth Rs 10 lakh. A R Rajendran, who is also a former secretary, along with his wife Sreejakumari, children and son-in-law, also took loans worth lakhs of rupees.

Some of the accused took loans up to Rs 25 lakh from the bank by pledging properties. However, they soon got the documents released with the help of the then secretaries. The existing liabilities of the loans at the bank were not marked in the encumbrance certificates even as the accused took loans using the same documents from other banks.

Agricultural loans were provided only to the accused, their relatives and party members. They took agricultural loans of Rs 10 lakh from the bank at 4% interest and deposited the money for 9.5% interest in the bank itself. They collected the interest on the deposit but did not repay the interest or the loan amount.

Even the elections of panel members did not comply with the rules, the report said. No general body meeting was held at the bank since 2018, the report added.

Using the documents of properties of people who took loans from the bank, the accused took other loans without their knowledge. The consent of the joint registrar is required to appoint people on a contract basis at the society. But the accused appointed their kith and kin at various positions at higher salaries and the bank incurred a loss of Rs 14.21 lakh because of this. The fixed deposit (FD) receipts have to be certified by the secretary, but here even retired staff were found to have certified FD receipts.

"The report reveals grave irregularities, and the accused must be brought before the law at any cost. Measures must be taken to provide money back to the depositors," said Santhivila Mujeeb Rahman, patron of the depositors' forum.

There are as many as six accused in the case. Former secretary of the bank S Balachandran Nair and former president R Pradeep Kumar were arrested earlier. The third and fourth accused former secretary A R Rajendran and cashier Vasanth along with two other board members are still absconding and the search has been intensified for them," said the probe team.