No proof of complicity: Bombay HC, ex-CEO of New India Coop Bank gets bail in 122cr fraud case

Mumbai: Observing that no material is found on record to prima facie indicate the complicity of the accused in siphoning funds from the bank, the Bombay High Court on Tuesday granted bail to Abhimanyu Bhoan (45), former chief executive officer of the New India Co-operative Bank Ltd, a year after he was arrested in connection with a Rs 122 crore cash shortfall and fraud case. "The applicant (Bhoan) has suffered incarceration for about one year. There is no material placed on record to demonstrate that the siphoning of amounts by accused No 1, Hitesh Mehta, the General Manager of Accounts, was done under the supervision or direction of the applicant (Bhoan)," the HC said.The HC made it clear that the observations made in the order are prima facie and confined to the bail plea, and the trial court is to decide the case on its own merits, uninfluenced by these observations.The HC further said that the basis of Bhoan's arrest was main accused Mehta's statement alleging "suspicious conduct" by Bhoan, who visited his bank and removed certain documents from the locker and changed his mobile phone. The prosecution had also pointed to Mehta's Brain Mapping Report, which corroborated his statement given to the police and a confrontation panchanama, indicating that Rs 1 crore was handed over by Bhoan. The HC noted that all these aspects are a matter of trial. Bhoan's bail plea was rejected by the sessions court in Oct last year. Subsequently, he moved the HC through his lawyers Wesley Menezes and Waqar Pathan. The case, which involves the alleged siphoning of funds from the bank's Prabhadevi and Goregaon branches between 2020 and 2025, originally came to light during a routine inspection by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).The fraud was reportedly masterminded by Hitesh Mehta, the bank's General Manager of Accounting, who is accused of siphoning approximately Rs 112 crore. During his interrogation, Mehta claimed he had shared Rs 1 crore with Bhoan and another Rs 41 crore with a co-accused, Dharmesh Paun.However, senior counsel Shirish Gupte, appearing for Bhoan, maintained that these actions did not prove complicity in the embezzlement and noted that Bhoan had already suffered a year of incarceration after being arrested on Feb 20, 2025. Gupte also submitted that Bhoan had no regular or day-to-day supervision over Mehta, hence, it cannot be alleged that he was involved in the scam. It was argued that siphoning of the funds was done by Mehta. It was also argued that Bhoan cannot escape his obligations and responsibilities towards the bank by feigning ignorance of the activities of the general manager. Granting the bail plea, the court ordered Bhoan's release on a PR bond of Rs 2 lakh with one or two local sureties. The bail is subject to strict conditions, including directions that he must attend the concerned police station twice a month and is prohibited from leaving the country without prior permission from the trial court."The applicant shall attend the trial court concerned on each and every date unless exempted…Any infraction of the aforesaid conditions shall entail cancellation of bail," said the HC.