Guwahati: The Assam Apex Bank Scandal: A Majestic Facade of Financial Misdeeds
The Assam Co-operative Apex Bank Ltd., a cooperative bank established in 1948, has been embroiled in a massive financial scandal, with allegations of corruption and misdeeds by top officials, including its chairman, Biswajit Phukan, a member of the state legislative assembly. The recent protests by the youth wing of the Assam Jatiya Parishad, Jatiya Yuva Sakti, forced the issue into the spotlight, leading to the arrest of a journalist, Dilwar Hussain Mozumder, for questioning the bank’s managing director, Dombouru Saikia, about the alleged scam.
The allegations center around a purported Rs 50-crore scam, with the scandal involving an astronomical rise in infrastructure costs from Rs 28 crores in 2018 to nearly Rs 50 crores in 2025, with a substantial Rs 14 crores funneled to the consultancy firm KPMG under questionable circumstances. The bank’s managing director, Dombouru Saikia, has maintained his innocence, but the allegations have raised concerns about the bank’s operational integrity and security.
The controversy deepened with the discovery of numerous transactions, including a staggering Rs 20.3 crores between April 5 and June 20, 2015, in violation of Reserve Bank of India (RBI) guidelines. The funds were allegedly funneled to North East Plantation and Commercial Private Limited, a company associated with Rajesh Bajaj, a figure previously scrutinized by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in connection with the Saradha chit fund scandal. This raises red flags about the bank’s dealings with questionable entities.
The Assam government has come under fire for its response to the scandal, with a complaint filed with the Central Vigilance Commission on January 30, 2025, and the state government’s Cooperation Department directing the Registrar of Cooperative Societies to investigate and submit a report within 15 days. The Assam Police’s detention of the journalist, Dilwar Mozumder, has sparked concerns about press freedom.
The Assam Co-operative Apex Bank, with a network of 67 branches and six zonal offices, manages deposit resources of over Rs 3474 crores and advances Rs 1436 crores for development activities in the state. The allegations have raised questions about the bank’s financial transparency and accountability. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has issued guidelines to prevent such malpractices, which were allegedly flouted by the Assam Co-operative Apex Bank. The investigation is ongoing, and this scandal has left a bad taste, affecting the reputation of the bank and the state government.
Original Source: https://nenow.in/north-east-news/assam/assam-apex-bank-scam-what-you-need-to-know.html
Category : Assam,Northeast News,Top News
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Publish Date: 2025-03-26 18:45:00
