Ex-MLA’s Properties Auctioned in ₹512 Crore Bank Scam

A special anti-money laundering court has greenlit the auction of properties tied to former Maharashtra MLA Vivekanand Shankar Patil to compensate creditors of the scam-hit Karnala Nagari Sahakari Bank in Panvel, Raigad district. The decision targets a sprawling sports academy and a land parcel in Panvel, linked to an alleged ₹512.54 crore fraud.

Patil, a three-term MLA from Panvel and one-time legislator from Uran with the Peasants and Workers Party of India, is the prime accused. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) and Navi Mumbai Police’s Economic Offences Wing (EOW) attached 87 properties, including Patil’s ancestral assets, under the Maharashtra Protection of Interest of Depositors (MPID) Act. The ED’s probe, sparked by a February 2020 EOW FIR against Patil and 75 others, alleges Patil siphoned funds through fictitious accounts to entities like the Karnala Sports Academy.

On Tuesday, Special PMLA Judge Satyanarayan Navander approved the bank’s liquidator’s plea to release the two properties for auction to settle debts, including depositors’ claims. All parties, including Patil, consented to the auction, prompting the court to finalize the attachment and order immediate sale proceedings.

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The fraud, uncovered by a 2019-20 Reserve Bank of India audit, involved 67 fictitious loan accounts, with funds allegedly funneled to Patil-controlled entities. The scam, dating back to 2008, led to Patil’s 2021 arrest and ongoing judicial custody. The auction aims to recover funds for the bank’s 40,000 depositors, who faced severe withdrawal restrictions since June 2020.

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