Mumbai: The economic offenses wing of Mumbai police on Saturday arrested Hitesh Mehta, former general manager and head of accounts of the New India Cooperative Bank, for allegedly siphoning Rs 122 crore from the bank. Mehta was called to record his statement before the probe agency at its south Mumbai office and he was arrested after being questioned for more than three hours.According to police, Mehta will be produced before a local court on Sunday. He is accused of misappropriating funds while overseeing the bank’s Dadar and Goregaon branches in Mumbai. The alleged fraud took place between 2020 and 2025. It was detected when an internal audit flagged concerns over missing funds. The FIR was registered at Dadar police station based on a complaint filed by the chief accounts officer of the bank. According to the complaint, Mehta, in his capacity as the general manager, withdrew a massive sum from the bank’s accounts. The investigation was subsequently transferred to the EOW, which will undergo forensic auditing to ascertain the full scale of the alleged fraud. On Thursday, the RBI had directed New India Co-operative Bank Limited that without prior written approval of the central bank, it shall not grant or renew any loans and advances, make any investment, incur any liability, disburse or agree to disburse any payment, enter into any compromise or arrangement and sell, transfer or otherwise dispose of any of its properties or assets. The RBI has also directed not to allow the withdrawal of any amount from any account of a depositor. After the RBI action, hundreds of customers on Friday morning had gathered outside Mumbai branches of the co-operative bank to withdraw their money, but they were not allowed to enter the bank premises. The RBI has superseded the Board of Directors of the bank for a period of 12 months and appointed an administrator to manage the affairs of the bank during this period. The RBI has also appointed a ‘Committee of Advisors’ to assist the administrator in discharging his duties.
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