On PMO intervention, RBI Seeks Response From Kotak Mahindra Bank To Santosh Bagla’s Complaint

by Suman Gupta

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) directed the Nodal officer of the  Kotak Mahindra Bank to reply complaint  filed by a Mumbai based Businessman Bagla with the direction to examine and redress the grievance and give appropriate reply to the RBI and also to the  complainant within a time bound manner.

Earlier The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) has directed Union Finance Ministry to look into a complaint against the Kotak Mahindra Bank MD and CEO Uday Kotak and other senior officials for alleged conspiracy, fraud and forgery. On the complaints of Bagla family filed earlier this month, the RBI has asked Kodak Mahindra Bank Nodal Officer to take appropriate action into the allegations of criminal conspiracy and illegal activities.

The Mumbai-based Bagla family has also written to the President’s Office, and the Union Home Ministry demanding a CBI probe against the Kotak Mahindra Bank MD and CEO Uday Kotak and other senior officials. They have also approached Union Home Ministry for penal action against six police personnel then posted in Barakhamba Road police station for their alleged connivance with the Kotak Mahindra Bank officials by acting in unfair and biased manner for arrest of Bhupendra Bagla in complete contravention of legal procedures.

According to Dr. Santosh Bagla, the Kotak Mahindra Bank’s top management entered into a criminal conspiracy with one Virendra Kumar Sharma who had leased his property to the Bagla family for running their businesses. Later, Kotak Mahindra Bank committed a loan fraud along with Virendra Kumar in which his son Bhupendra was falsely implicated. Bhupendra was later arrested in the false and frivolous case despite having anticipatory bail. The Magistrate on his arrest issued notice to Regional Manager of Kotak to clarify about the loan was given as unsecured Loan or Secured Loan the next day the Advocates of Kotak Mahindra appeared and confirmed that the loan of 50 lacs was given as ‘ Unsecured ‘. And to the Company Cogent Ventures (India) Limited and not to Bhupendra Bagla . On knowing this facts the court granted the bail order and released Bhupendra Bagla immediately.

In the malafide arrest six Delhi police officials were also involved against whom a complaint has been filed. Bhupendra was subsequently given clean chit by the courts, but during the long trial he faced humiliation and also a broken marriage, while his businesses also suffered huge losses, alleged Dr. Santosh Kumar Bagla.

“My son was acquitted from Court of Law. Kotak Mahindra Bank orchestrated the entire fraud and false case to grab a property which was taken on lease by one of the companies which we ran. Kotak Mahindra Bank and Virendra are directly involved in creating false and forged loan documents to implicate my son. It took my family eight long years to come out clean, but we lost prestige, business respectability and faced social humiliation, besides suffering huge monetary losses in fighting the case. I will now file a defamation suit against Kotak. I have also approached the Reserve Bank of India seeking immediate revocation of banking license of Kotak Mahindra Bank,” said Dr. Santosh Kumar Bagla.