Minister for Cooperation V.N. Vasavan said on Wednesday that the Karuvannur Service Cooperative Bank in Thrissur district has so far returned ₹103 crore to its depositors. Some of the depositors who got back their money have also deposited a part of the amount in the bank, a sign that it is regaining their trust, Mr. Vasavan said at a press conference here.
“For example, people who received ₹1 lakh have re-deposited ₹10,000 and ₹25,000 in the bank. This is a good sign,” he said. The Karuvannur Service Cooperative Bank had hogged headlines for all the wrong reasons following a multi-crore loan scam. “The process of returning all the smaller deposits, up to ₹1 lakh, is in progress. We are verifying it on a daily basis,’‘ he said. In the case of bigger deposits, the money and interest and being returned on the basis of court directives, he said.
Kandala bank
The bank has also restarted issuing loans, indicating that the bank would be fully back on track in the near future, Mr. Vasavan said. In the case of the scam-ridden Kandala Service Cooperative Bank fraud also, the Cooperation department will adopt a similar strategy once the bank submits a project. The amended Cooperative Societies Act has provisions to prop up ailing cooperative sector institutions, he added.
