Maharashtra: Enforcement Directorate arrests firm lead Archana Kute in money laundering case

Mumbai: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrested Archana Kute of Kute Groupon on Monday in a money laundering case linked to alleged financial irregularities in Dnyanradha Multistate Co-operative Credit Society Ltd (DMCCSL) and others in Mumbai. The court remanded her into ED custody until March 7.ED investigation showed that a substantial portion of the society's Rs 2,467 crore was diverted as purported "loans" to a group of companies (Kute Group) beneficially owned and controlled by Suresh Kute and Archana Kute. Archana Kute earlier applied for anticipatory bail in the case, but the court rejected it. Subsequently, the ED arrested her.The ED case was based on various FIRs registered by various police stations across Maharashtra in respect of fraud with investors committed by Suresh Kute and others through DMCCSL. These FIRs alleged that the society floated various high-yield deposit schemes promising returns of 12%–14%, which lured large numbers of investors but resulted in substantial financial losses to them due to non-payment or partial payment of deposits.