EOW raids Maha businessman in multi-crore fraud case

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar (Maharashtra): The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) raided a businessman Suresh G Kute in connection with an alleged fraud of over Rs 4 crore, perpetrated on depositors through his credit cooperative society, an official said here on Saturday.

The raids followed a complaint lodged by an aggrieved person Pandurang S Chaudhary, naming 17 others besides Kute, a BJP leader who was arrested by the Beed Police from Pune in June 2024, and spent time in jail.

Confirming the developments, Karmad Police Station Incharge, Inspector Pratap Navghare told IANS that the complaint was lodged by them and later the EOW Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar carried out the raids and searches till late on Friday night.

The EOW raided the Dnyanradha MultiState Cooperative Credit Society's divisional office in Garkheda, belonging to the Tirumala Group owned by Kute, who is already facing more than four dozen fraud cases around the state.

Among other things, the accused have been charged with committing a financial fraud luring over 200 depositors with higher returns of 13-18 per cent on investments through the society based in neighbouring Beed District.

Kute is the Chairman of the society and the others named in the complaint include: Archana Suresh Kute, Yashwant V Kulkarni, Vaibhad Y Kulkarni, Vasant S Satale, Rekha V Satale, Ashish P Patodekar, Dadarao H Udere, Asha Padmakar Patil, Kailas K Mohte, Ravindra M Talbe, Shivaji R Paraskar, Raghunath S Kharsad, Ravind S Yadav, Sachin Lakhe, Siddheshwar Khandare and Narayan Shinde, all from Beed.

According to the complainant Chaudhary, the accused who include directors, and other high ranking executives of the society, allegedly lured and trapped the depositors with the promise of giving higher interest rates on their short or long term deposits from 2016-2017.

After collecting the money amounting to around Rs 4 crore, Kute suddenly shut down the society’s Karmad Branch in November 2023, leaving all the investors in a limbo, and also joined the BJP at that time.

In the August 9 action that went on till the wee hours of Saturday, the EOW sleuths led by Ashok Avachar, pored over various records, files, computer data and other materials in the society offices and seized certain incriminating evidence against Kute and others.

According to police, Kute, who was raided by the Income Tax Department in October 2023, has allegedly cheated over 5 lakh people who were attracted by various ponzi schemes launched through the Tirumala Group and the Society in the past several years.