Post by : Raina
Al-Fahim
Bengaluru police have taken two suspects into custody over an alleged Rs 70 crore embezzlement at the Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) Staff Credit Co-operative Society. The detained individuals are the society's Chief Executive Officer, Gopi, and employee Lakshmi Jagadish.
The co-operative, which has served active and retired EPFO staff for more than 60 years, handled members' fixed deposits and paid routine interest until about three months ago, when members noticed discrepancies during withdrawal attempts.
Preliminary inquiries indicate roughly Rs 3 crore were legitimately issued as loans, while the bulk of the remaining funds appear to have been misappropriated. The scheme was uncovered after a routine withdrawal flagged inconsistencies in the society's ledgers.
Investigators have seized several high-end vehicles linked to the accused as part of evidence collection. Police said an accountant named Jagadish is a person of interest and is currently evading arrest.
Members have expressed alarm after trusting the society with long-term savings, prompting calls for urgent recovery efforts and accountability from the management.
The ongoing probe aims to quantify the full loss, trace diverted funds and bring any additional perpetrators to justice.
The case has drawn attention to governance weaknesses in co-operative financial bodies and the need for stronger oversight to safeguard investors.
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