Heart-Breaking Loss For Thousands Of Depositors As Builder Cheats New India Coop Bank

The arrest of Dharmesh Paun, a prominent Mumbai builder, has turned the spotlight again on the unholy nexus between builders and banks, especially cooperative banks in Maharashtra. Of the ₹122 crore reportedly siphoned off from the bank, nearly ₹70 cr was routed to Dharmesh Paun. The scam, scripted over a period of more than 5 years, has left thousands of depositors of the New India Cooperative Bank distraught. Under the current deposit insurance scheme, these depositors will get only up to ₹5 lakh back, irrespective of the savings or fixed deposits they have in the bank. Questioned about this, M Nagaraju, Secretary, Department of Financial Services, today said the government was considering a hike in this deposit insurance limit.