Mumbai: The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) has arrested Archana Kute in connection with financial irregularities and money laundering linked to M/s Dnyanradha Multistate Co-operative Credit Society Ltd (DMCCSL), an agency statement said on Thursday.
Kute was arrested on March 2 by the ED’s Mumbai Zonal Office under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.
She was produced before a special PMLA court in Mumbai on March 3, which sent her to ED custody for five days until March 7 for further investigation.
The arrest follows an ongoing money-laundering probe initiated on the basis of multiple FIRs registered between May and July 2024 by various police stations across Maharashtra.
The cases were filed under different sections of the Indian Penal Code in connection with a fraud involving investors of the credit society.
According to the ED, the FIRs alleged that the society, through its promoters, including Suresh Kute, launched several high-return deposit schemes promising interest rates ranging from 12 to 14 per cent. These schemes attracted a large number of investors but later resulted in significant financial losses due to non-payment or only partial repayment of deposits.
During the investigation, the ED found that a substantial portion of the society’s funds — amounting to around Rs 2,467 crore — was allegedly diverted in the form of loans to several companies belonging to the Kute Group, which are beneficially owned or controlled by Suresh Kute and Archana Kute.
The agency alleged that these loans were sanctioned without proper documentation, collateral security, or end-use certification. Instead of being utilised for legitimate business purposes, the funds were siphoned off for personal gains or invested in unrelated business ventures, ED said.
Earlier in the case, the ED had arrested Suresh Kute and subsequently filed a charge sheet before the special PMLA court in Mumbai, which has taken cognisance of the offence.
So far, the ED has conducted multiple searches and issued several Provisional Attachment Orders in the case, leading to the attachment and seizure of movable and immovable assets worth approximately Rs 1,621.89 crore.
(IANS)
