Chetan Dessai, 2 others booked for swindling Rs 3.13-crore BCCI funds

NT NETWORK
PANAJI
The Economic Offences Cell (EOC) of Goa police has registered a first information report (FIR) against the Goa Cricket Association (GCA) president Chetan Dessai, its secretary Vinod Phadke and treasurer Akbar Mulla on various charges including forgery, cheating and criminal conspiracy for allegedly misappropriating Rs 3.13 crore.
The FIR has been registered after conducting a preliminary inquiry on the complaint lodged by Vilas Dessai, life member of GCA, police has said.
Similarly EOC has also registered another FIR under similar charges against unknown accused for allegedly misappropriating Rs 2.87 crore. A complaint in this regard was filed by Chetan Dessai, Vinod Phadke and Akbar Mulla. They had filed a complaint before the Porvorim police on May 8 while Vilas Dessai had filed the complaint a couple of days later before the Crime Branch, informed police. Both the complaints were subsequently referred to EOC.
Referring to the complaint, police informed that the complainant Vilas Desai had claimed that the accused persons, who were the members and signatory authority for GCA hatched a criminal conspiracy by impersonating and posing as president, secretary and treasurer of GCA and further prepared forged, fake documents and resolution of GCA which were submitted to a bank in Panaji for opening an account in the name of GCA. The funds (cheque of Rs 2.87 crore) of TV subsidy sent by Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to GCA were deposited in the account and were allegedly misappropriated by the accused informed police. According to the complainant, the accused persons also allegedly withdrew Rs 26 lakh from another bank account on the non existing person’s name on the pretext of giving the money to a company which was never given. The total amount is said to be around Rs 3.13 crore and the incident was reported to have occurred between October 23, 2006 to May 28, 2008. According to the police at that particular time Dayanand Narvekar was the GCA president, Chetan Desai was secretary and Vinod Phadke was the treasurer.
Whereas Chetan Desai, Vinod Phadke and Akbar Mulla in their complaint had claimed that unknown persons allegedly misappropriated Rs 2.87 crore. According to them, a fraudulent bank account was opened using forged signatures and subsequently the money was withdrawn and misappropriated.
According to the police, as per bank documents Desai, Phadke and Mulla are said to be the signatories and their identity proofs were submitted while opening the account. However, all the three have denied their involvement when they were questioned, police informed. According to the complainant, a cheque of Rs 2.87 crore received by the GCA from the BCCI was deposited, not in regular banking account of the GCA but, in a newly opened account in a bank in the city by forging signatures and the amount was withdrawn and misappropriated. The incident is said to have been reported between October 23, 2006 to March 29, 2008.
According to the complainants, they checked the records of the GCA for the said year and they have not found any particulars of such transactions.
According to police, the preliminary inquiry into the alleged misappropriation of Rs 2.87 crore has revealed that the cheque was deposited in a new bank account five months after it was issued by the BCCI. The inquiry has also revealed that the money in question has been withdrawn through 49 transactions in which self-cheques were issued in names of some individuals. Rs 15 lakh is said to be the highest amount that has been withdrawn through a single transaction.
Except for one cheque, others did not carry full names of the receivers.