M.C.C. Bank : Activist alleges gross corruption and irregularities

Mangalore Today News Network

Mangaluru, Mar 24, 2022: In a shocking revelation, social activist Gerard Towers has accused the top management of the city based Mangalore Catholic Co-operative Bank Ltd, Mangaluru, of indulging in large scale corruption and irregularities.

Announcing this at a press conference held at Hotel Woodlands this evening, Towers said he has filed a complaint with the Registrar of Co-operative Societies, Bengaluru for the immediate disqualification of the bank Chairman Anil Kumar Lobo and another Director Joseph M Anil Patrao from the Board of the bank on grounds of corruption, bribery, money laundering and violation of RBI directives and violation of KCR Act. The complaint also seeks the immediate dismissal of the bank’s General Manager (IC) Sunil Menezes for colluding in the malpractices, he said.

Gerard Towers further claimed that he, in his capacity as a member of the bank, along with other like-minded members have been regularly raising an alarm and writing to the authorities regarding gross misuse of power by the bank ‘Chairman and his accomplices’ and jeopardizing the stability and financial health of the bank.

“The MCC Bank Ltd., is a highly respected and reputed 100 year old institution founded with the noble objective of community welfare and service to society. The present level of malpractice and abuse of power by the management is very unhealthy and can eventually lead to the collapse of the bank. This will be detrimental to the interests of the members, depositors, customers and the large number staff members and their families who are dependent on the bank for their livelihood,” Towers said.

Furnishing factual data, Towers said that it had been found by the RBI in its inspection held in February 2021 that the Chairman has sanctioned loans worth several crores to his friends and business associates and large sums have been transferred from their accounts to the personal accounts of himself and his wife, and also to his business account under Mikes Electronics. “A total of Rs. 99,45,000 has been transferred to these accounts from the account of a borrower Savil Prakash Mascarenhas immediately after the loans were sanctioned,” Towers revealed.  

In another case of loan of Rs. 1,65,00,000 sanctioned to one Elias Sanctis, the RBI found that Rs. 20 lakhs was transferred in two equal amounts to the individual accounts of the Chairman and his wife in Corporation Bank, he said.

“The RBI has also found that the Chairman himself has been repaying the loan of one customer Benedict Ivan D’souza from his accounts totalling to Rs. 14,04,000 of a total loan of Rs. 1,40,00,000 sanctioned to Benedict D’souza. The Chairman has neither recused himself from the loan committee meetings and the board meetings concerning these loans nor disclosed his personal and business interest with the borrower,” said Gerard Towers.

Towers accused another Director Joseph M. Anil Patrao of illicitly facilitating a huge loan of Rs. 5 crores to his friend and business associate Francis Alfred Concesso and his wife. “Though Concesso is not eligible to avail such a large loan it is Joseph Patrao who, as the branch incharge Director, has enabled the sanctioning of the loan. He too has neither recused from the loan committee nor disclosed his personal interest with borrower to the board,” he said. Joseph Patrao, Francis Concesso and some others hold a Joint Development Agreement for promoting a residential and commercial complex, he added.

Towers accused the Chairman Anil Kumar Lobo of nepotism in employing his own brother Ashok Lobo and Roshan Saldana, his close relative as IT consultants. “The main objective of appointing close relatives as IT consultants is to control and manipulate the computer data,” he alleged.

Mr. Towers said, on relentlessly following up with the Reserve Bank of India and through Right To Information Act enquiry, it was informed to him by the RBI that the findings of the inspection have been referred by the Department of Supervision, RBI Bengaluru to the Registrar of Cooperative Societies, Karnataka. “But the Registrar has not initiated any action nor given any reply to my communication,” he said.

Towers said he has made submissions to the Co-operative Minister S. T. Somashekhar, U. T. Khadar, Deputy Leader of the Opposition of Karnataka Legislative Assembly, the local MLA Vedavyas Kamath and the Member of Parliament Nalin Kumar Kateel, but so far he has not received any response. “It is my endeavour to save the bank at any cost and I and my fellow members shall take legal recourse if needed,” he said, adding that he plans to file a criminal complaint with the Police and to hold Dharna outside the bank head office.

Stevan D’Souza, another member who addressed the press meet, accused the top management of manipulating the login of members during the last virtual Annual General Body Meeting held on 21.12.2021. “The AGM is illegal and a suo moto case should be filed,” he said.

Another senior member, Eugene Lobo, called for immediate action by the Registrar of Co-operative Societies on all the irregularities found.