Ajit Pawar, Sunetra Pawar get clean chit in Rs 25,000 crore scam

Mumbai (The Uttam Hindu): A special court in Mumbai has accepted the closure report filed by the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) in the case related to the alleged Rs 25,000 crore loan scam at the Maharashtra State Co-operative Bank (MSCB). The court said no punishable offence was proved during the investigation.

Special Judge Mahesh Jadhav approved the EOW's "C-Summary" report. The decision provides relief to Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, his wife Sunetra Pawar, and more than 70 others named in the case. The court also said that sufficient evidence of criminal irregularities in the alleged loan disbursements and recovery involving cooperative sugar factories was not found.

The court dismissed protest petitions filed by social activist Anna Hazare and others, and also rejected an intervention petition filed by the Enforcement Directorate.

The case stems from an FIR filed in 2019 following a Bombay High Court directive. The allegation was that MSCB and some district cooperative banks allegedly disbursed loans to sugar mills in an irregular manner. It was also alleged that some mills were declared non-performing assets and later sold at a lower price.

The EOW's 35-page closure report outlines its investigation into three major transactions. The investigating agency stated in its report that it found no sufficient evidence of criminal misconduct in the loan approvals or the sale of the Satara-based Jarandeshwar Sugar Cooperative Factory and other units. According to the agency, more than ₹1,343 crore of the loans in question have been recovered, and there was no evidence of any direct loss to the bank. With this court order, criminal proceedings in the case have been put on hold for now.