In a financial fraud case involving the misappropriation of depositor funds in the Malaika Multistate Credit Cooperative Society (MMCCS) in accordance with the provisions of the PMLA, 2002, the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) has provisionally attached 48 immovable properties worth Rs 60.44 crore, including flats, shops, and land belonging to Gilbert Baptist, his family members/aides, and entities controlled by him.
Based on an FIR and two chargesheets submitted by the Mira Road Police Station of the Maharashtra State Police, the ED opened an investigation.
Gilbert Baptist and Marceline Baptist founded the Malaika Multistate Credit Cooperative Society (MMCCS) in 2010, according to an ED probe. Gilbert Baptist afterwards appointed other fictitious Directors to MMCCS. Gilbert Baptist, the chairman of the organisation, operated it as a one-man operation. For daily operations, all other team members were according to his instructions.
With guarantees of excellent profits, the investors were methodically persuaded to put their assets in several schemes. Gilbert Baptist, however, misappropriated the majority of the money for his own commercial endeavours rather than placing the innocent customers’ deposits in safe companies or instruments. Gilbert Baptist had established a number of companies under the names M/s Malaika Appliances Pvt Ltd (MAPL), Yasoma Industries, Yasoma Wedding Sarees, and others that were funded by investments from Malaika Multistate Credit Cooperative Society.
Several inconsistencies were flagged by MMCCS’s financial auditors during yearly periodic audits, but Gilbert Baptist and his staff chose to overlook them. No responsible financial standards for loan approval were observed. His enterprises too followed the same careless path. He used the money to establish properties in his name and the names of his family, acquaintances, and enterprises. His commercial endeavours were unsuccessful, and soon the accounts of Malaika Multistate Credit Cooperative Society turned into NPA, causing hundreds of innocent investors to lose money. Deposits worth up to Rs 200 Crore are thought to have been lost as a result of Gilbert Baptist’s scam.
The proceeds of crime obtained through the misappropriation of depositor funds were used to create immovable properties in the names of M/s MAPL, Gilbert Baptist, Marceline Baptist, Elcy Rodrigues, Reena Jose, Manohar Shetty, Sushant Sabat, Maliaka Starcity Project, Yasoma Industries, and Yasoma Wedding. These properties have been identified and are currently being provisionally attached by the ED in accordance with PMLA, 2002. Gilbert Baptist was previously detained by ED and is currently in judicial detention. More research is being done.
