Friday, March 9, 2012

JKCA Multi Crore Scam in Jammu Kashmir

The buck may not stop at the former general secretary of the Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association (JKCA), Ahsan Mirza, the main accused in the multi-crore scam that surfaced in the Association. Around ` 33 crores that were deposited in three accounts were siphoned off by the JKCA members and sources said there are few more accounts that have not been traced yet.

Ahsan Mirza, general secretary and Salim Khan, the Chief Administrative Officer of the Association are apparently the main accused in the scam as the documentary evidence is against them but sources said more people could be involved.

Mirza and Khan are the two close lieutenants of the JKCA president Dr Farooq Abdullah and were asked to resign on Wednesday on behalf of president after the scam was unearthed by the current treasurer Manzoor Ahmad Wazir.

There were three accounts of the JKCA that were being operated by Mirza and Khan who were treasurer and general secretary between 2008 and 2011 respectively. These three accounts were not mentioned in the audit report 2009-2010 and 2010-2011 of the JKCA that led to suspicion and unearthening of the scam.

Records of the JKCA available with the Jk Newsrevealed that one of these three Accounts, CD-90606, was opened in the Jammu and Kashmir Bank branch Khanyar, Srinagar on June 21, 2008. On the same day Ahsan Mirza opened a personal account CD-90605 in the same branch.

The account CD-90606 was operated upto May 3, 2011 by Mirza and Khan and was closed and a new account, CD 91022 was opened on the same day in the same branch of the bank with an opening balance of ` 15,000.

The CD-90606 account was opened with ` 10,000 and ` 7.2 crore was deposited in it on February 19, 2009 through bank transfer from account 010126650-1198 and same day it was kept as fixed deposit by the JKCA. On May 4, 2009 first cheque bearing number 19400001 of ` 5 lakh was issued in favour of self by Mirza and Khan.

And for next three years, an amount of `13.29 crore Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) money was credited and then debited from the account before it was closed last year. Maximum amount was drawn in favour of Ahsan Mirza and self -Mirza and Khan.

Rupees 1.92 crore cheques have been issued in favour of Ahsan Mirza, ` 42 lakh in favour of one Abdul Majid, ` 31 lakh in favour of Aisha Constructions, ` 20 lakh in favour of Rajab sons and ` 10 lakh in favour of Danish carpets.

The closure of the JKCA account CD-90606 and opening of JKCA CD 91022 has been done in connivance with the bank officials of the J&K Bank Branch Khanyar, Srinagar.

Anis Qadri who heads accounts division in corporate headquarters of one of the leading banks in New Delhi said that closing and opening of a bank account in the same branch on same day is against the RBI guidelines. He said that according to RBI guidelines there should be a valid reason for it and the bank can open such an account after a gap of six months.

A J&K Bank official, however, said that the bank can open or close the account of any individual or group at anytime depending upon the customer. He said that proper formalities were completed by the JKCA for opening CD-91022 account.

In another account CD- 03793 in Jammu and Kashmir bank branch Cargo in the name of Ahsan Mirza and Mir Manzoor Ganzafar, around ` 5.4 crore were deposited and later withdrawn over the period of three years.

A Saving Bank account in the name of the JKCA that was defunct for six years in J&K Bank Cargo Branch, Srinagar was activated by Mirza and Khan in 2009. Initially, ` 1 crore BCCI money was deposited in it and later over the period of two years ` 14 crore were deposited and withdrawn from it. The account was opened in 1999 and in 2003 it was made non-functional after ` 2 lakh were withdrawn from it.

Besides this Ahsan Mirza has availed loan of ` 1.9 crore on July 7, 2008 against the two fixed deposits of JKCA bearing number 1824619 and 1824620 of ` 1.15 crore each. The amount was credited to Ahsan Mirza's account CD- 90605 in J&K Bank Branch Khanyar, Srinagar.

Sources said that the depositing of ` 1.9 crore JKCA money by Ahsan Mirza in his own account was detected by the J&K Bank auditor in the same year but the higher officials of the bank paid no heed.

Around ` 33 crore BCCI money that was deposited and withdrawn from these three accounts has no mention in the Audit report 2009-2010 and 2010-2011 of the JKCA as it was hidden from the auditor by the JKCA.

The Audit report 2010-2011 of the JKCA showed ` 61 crore have been received by the JKCA from the BCCI so far while it showed ` 88 lakh as fixed assets and ` 56.50 crore as fixed deposits in banks. However, there is no mention of the amount received from the BCCI and deposited in the three accounts where from huge transactions were made. As per the records around ` 25 crore has been received by the JKCA this year and it has been kept in fixed deposits.

The main accused in the scam, Ahsan Mirza told Jk Newsthat he has not done these transactions singularly on his own but the other members of the JKCA were privy to it. He said that an independent inquiry should be held and if he is found guilty, he will pay every single penny to the JKCA that he is accused of swindling. He said that no one has asked him to resign and he has stepped down on his own on moral grounds.

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