Businessman’s Son Arrested in ₹122 Crore New India Co-operative Bank Scam
Mumbai’s Economic Offences Wing (EOW) has made another arrest in the ₹122 crore embezzlement case linked to the New India Co-operative Bank. On Thursday, officials arrested 33-year-old Manohar Arunachalam, the son of Unnathan Arunachalam (alias Arun Bhai), who is currently on the run. This marks the fourth arrest in the case, an official confirmed on Friday.
Manohar, who was pursuing chartered accountancy and ran Magas Consultancy in Malad, is accused of helping his father flee. The EOW has also issued a lookout notice for Unnathan Arunachalam, declaring a reward for anyone providing information leading to his arrest. He is suspected of taking ₹40 crore from the embezzled funds.
How the Scam Unfolded
Investigations have revealed that Unnathan, who deals in solar panels, operated from his son’s consultancy office. The arrested general manager and head of accounts of the bank, Hitesh Mehta, allegedly visited this office twice to hand over large sums of cash.
May 2019: ₹15 crore was handed over.
August 2019: Another ₹18 crore was given.
February 17, 2024: Manohar was last seen helping his father escape, with Unnathan spotted in an autorickshaw heading towards Borivali.
The scam came to light after an RBI inspection of the bank’s cash safes, prompting authorities to register a case at Dadar police station, which was later transferred to the EOW.
Current Arrests in the Case
So far, the EOW has arrested:
Hitesh Mehta – Former general manager & head of accounts.
Abhimanyu Bhoan – Former CEO of the bank.
Dharmesh Paun – Real estate developer.
Manohar Arunachalam – Arrested from Dahisar, remanded in police custody till March 4.
As the hunt for Unnathan Arunachalam continues, the authorities are tightening their grip on those involved in this multi-crore financial fraud.
News Source : Information for this article was gathered from a variety of reliable news outlets.
