Dikhyaa Mohanty 
A total of Rs 224.61 crore in embezzlement has been discovered in several cooperative banks throughout the state of Odisha. During the financial audit of the state’s 13 Urban Cooperative Banks (UCBs), 17 Central Cooperative Banks (CCBs), and Odisha State Cooperative Bank (OSCB), the anomalies were discovered. State Cooperation Minister Pradeep Bal Samanta provided the facts in response to a query posed on Wednesday in the Odisha Assembly by prominent Congressman Tara Prasad Bahinipati.
Samanta further reported to the Assembly that the audit revealed 1,704 individuals to have been involved in the embezzlement of the cash. He stated that the individuals responsible for the misuse of monies totaling multiple crores have so far been held accountable for Rs 16.63 crore. Directions for the recovery of an additional Rs 30.73 crore from 706 individuals deemed accountable for the scam have also been issued by the department.
Under the Odisha Co-operative Societies Act, 1962, the Registrar of Cooperative Societies, Odisha, suspended the management committees of the Odisha State Cooperative Bank Ltd and Odisha Cooperative Housing Corporations Ltd on Wednesday due to financial misappropriation. According to the department’s orders, management committees are operating against the interests of the Bank, its members, and the members of its linked cooperative societies.
