PANAJI
The Anti-Corruption Branch of the Central Bureau of Investigation (Goa) registered a case of criminal conspiracy against some unidentified officials of Canara Bank and others for facilitating the mortgaging of a shop without the knowledge of the owner.
In her complaint to the CBI, Maria Philomena Shalini Lobo, owner of Shania’s Corner Wine Shop in Calangute, alleged a criminal conspiracy involving some unidentified officials at Canara Bank’s Candolim branch with others to fraudulently sanction loans using forged documents tied to her business address and property deeds. The complainant, who claimed she did not take any loan by mortgaging her shop, stated she received notices from Canara Bank indicting her as a “wilful defaulter.”
As per the FIR, a discreet verification by the CBI revealed the alleged involvement of one Neeta Shettigar aka Xettigar and Shubham Naik in the conspiracy. On February 28, 2020, a credit limit application for Rs 25 lakh was submitted to the Candolim branch under the business name “Shania Corner Wine Shop,” registered as a proprietorship under Xettigar.
The application showed securities including stock hypothecation and collateral of a property supposedly gifted to Xettigar by Naik one day prior to the loan application. This property, however, was reportedly under mortgage with Konkan Mercantile Co-operative Bank against a non-performing asset (NPA) loan.
After the loan disbursement, Rs 8.9 lakh was transferred from the account associated with Shania Corner Wine Shop to another business Shubham Wines Store, operated by Naik. Additional loan connections also emerged and the probe revealed both named accused availed multiple loans allegedly using forged documents, and even cheating the bank.
Based on these findings, a case was registered under Sections 120-B (criminal conspiracy), 420 (cheating), 468 (forgery for the purpose of cheating) and 471 (using as genuine a forged document) of the Indian Penal Code, along with Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.
