Home loan scam: Gifts, pleasure trips, friendship and loans as kickbacks

The owners of Money Matters Financial Services (MMFS) used the power of money, expensive gifts, and pleasure trips to cultivate and lure top executives of nationalised banks into their ‘loan syndicate’.

Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) sources said Money Matters owners through their contacts would get in direct touch top officials of banks.

However, they would never involve bank executives in the early stages. The officials would be slowly given a taste of the high life through gifts and other gratification as a mark of their friendship.
Over time, the value of the gifts would increase.

Later, when the executives get really close, they were offered kickbacks for sanctioning loans.

“Since the amount sanctioned would be very high, one can only imagine the kickbacks the executives were getting,” said a CBI official on the condition of anonymity.

A few days back, cash of over Rs45 lakh was allegedly handed to Ramchandran Nair, director and CEO, LIC Housing Finance, by an owner of Money Matters as he required it to buy a flat in Goregaon.

“We are verifying it,” a CBI official told DNA.

The sleuths said during Diwali, the arrested executives were given expensive gifts in the form of cash and jewellery.

The executives were also offered pleasure trips. “We will be checking all records as to when and where they went,” the official said.