The Central government on Monday informed the Lok Sabha that fraud cases involving Rs 5.85 crore have been detected in Raiganj Central Cooperative Bank, prompting supervisory concerns from regulators.
Replying to a question in the House, Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary said that, according to National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD), fraud cases amounting to Rs 584.98 lakh were outstanding in the bank as of March 31, 2025.
NABARD has issued a Letter of Supervisory Concerns (LOSC) to the Cooperation Department of West Bengal and the West Bengal State Cooperative Bank, highlighting serious deficiencies and irregularities in the functioning of the district cooperative bank.
Despite these issues, the bank has remained profitable. It reported a profit after tax of Rs 519.69 lakh in FY 2024-25, while total deposits stood at Rs 1,15,443 lakh and assets at Rs 1,54,140 lakh.
Chaudhary also said the government and the Reserve Bank of India have introduced several measures to strengthen cooperative banks, including expanded housing loan limits, improved IT infrastructure, and deposit insurance of up to Rs 5 lakh for depositors.
