Pune: The state CID on Tuesday claimed a major breakthrough in the Rs3,500 crore fraud by Dnyanradha Multistate Cooperative Credit Society Limited in Beed following the arrest of Archana Kute, the society’s business promoter (director) and wife of its chairman Suresh Kute, and director Asha Padmakar Patodekar, from Pune.The CID’s Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar unit also seized property worth Rs2.10 crore from them. This included 60 gold items worth Rs80.91 lakh, 270 silver items worth Rs56.75 lakh and cash Rs63 lakh and a BMW scooter worth Rs10 lakh.Close to 10,000 depositors from Beed, Jalna and Parbhani districts have been cheated in the alleged multi-crore rupees fraud in which the CID registered a total of 95 cases against 90 accused, including the society’s 14 board members. The CID had earlier arrested the society’s chairman Suresh Kute but his wife managed to evade arrest so far.Additional director general of police (CID) Sunil Ramanand told TOI, “The two arrested women were absconding for a long time. Our team received a tip-off about their presence in a flat at Baner in Pune on Tuesday evening. Our men immediately reached the flat and took the two women in custody. We will be producing them before a court in Beed on Wednesday.”Earlier this month, Ramanand said that a forensic audit had established the number of depositors duped and that the CID had identified 230 properties valued at Rs400 crore. The govt issued a notification under Section 4 of the Maharashtra Protection of Interest of Depositors in financial establishments (MPID) Act, 1999 to provisionally attach 80 of these properties as part of a phased recovery. A proposal to attach another 40 was pending with the govt, he said.Ramanand said the CID had so far filed four charge sheets against the board of directors and its members, governing body, branch officers and other collaborators. The charge sheets in the remaining cases would be filed in due course.On Aug 30, Beed district collector had filed a plea before a special court praying that the process to confirm attachment of 80 properties be expedited to enable their auction and recover money.The CID’s case is that DMCSL chairman Suresh Kute and others hatched a criminal conspiracy to allegedly defraud depositors of crores of rupees by assuring them 13% to 18% returns for different schemes — like fixed deposits, loans and investment in shares. The fraud came to light after the suspects did not pay interest to account holders, following which a series of FIRs were registered against Kute and others in 2024.The Enforcement Directorate is also investigating a money laundering case against DMSCL.
