Mumbai —The Bhandup police have registered a First Information Report (FIR) against Subham Commercial Enterprises Pvt. Ltd. and several former officials of the Punjab and Maharashtra Co-operative (PMC) Bank, alleging a ₹14.5 crore fraud linked to a 2018 property transaction. The complaint, filed by Vijayakumar, a senior vice president at Unity Small Finance Bank, accuses the company’s directors — Nimit Laxmichand Kheda, Ruchik Laxmichand Kheda, and Laxmichand Damji Kheda — along with former PMC managing director Joy Thomas and chief manager Kamaljit Kaur Banwet, of facilitating a deal that caused heavy losses to the bank.
The case emerged during an internal audit following Unity Bank’s merger with the crisis-hit PMC Bank in January 2022, under directives from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). Vijayakumar, who was granted power of attorney in mid-2022 to probe potential irregularities, reported that the audit had uncovered inconsistencies in the bank’s past property transactions.
The 2018 Panvel Property Agreement
According to the FIR, the roots of the case trace back to 2018, when PMC Bank sought to expand operations by acquiring office space in New Panvel for a new branch and back-office. An agreement was signed with Subham Commercial Enterprises Pvt. Ltd., which was then constructing a commercial building on plots 1 and 3 in Sector 11.
The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), dated March 16, 2018, stated that the bank would purchase three ground-floor shops measuring 500 sq. ft. each and 30 offices spread across four upper floors — totaling 7,000 sq. ft. — for ₹15 crore. An initial payment of ₹9.5 crore was made immediately, with an additional ₹5 crore to follow after execution of the sale deed.
The agreement required Subham Commercial Enterprises to deliver possession of the property by June 30, 2018. However, the company allegedly failed to do so, neither completing construction nor refunding the advance amount. Despite repeated letters and phone calls from PMC Bank — including formal notices sent in September, October, and November 2020 — no repayment was made.
Unfinished Construction and Regulatory Breaches
An inspection conducted in August 2024 revealed that the building remained incomplete, with construction halted midway. Subsequent demand notices sent in September 2025 also went unanswered, investigators said.
According to police findings, the implicated PMC Bank officials bypassed internal and regulatory requirements, including permissions from the RBI and the central registrar, before finalizing the deal. The FIR alleges that this procedural violation breached co-operative banking bye-laws and resulted in direct financial losses.
Investigators further claim that the officials’ actions facilitated undue financial benefit for Subham Commercial Enterprises, which neither fulfilled its contractual obligations nor refunded the bank’s payment.
Ongoing Probe and Wider Implications
Police sources confirmed that investigations are ongoing and that the accused are likely to be summoned for questioning. The allegations come amid broader scrutiny of PMC Bank’s legacy transactions following its collapse in 2019 due to its exposure to the Housing Development and Infrastructure Ltd. (HDIL) loan fraud.
The unfolding probe highlights how unresolved legacy issues continue to haunt India’s cooperative banking sector. For Unity Bank — the entity now responsible for PMC’s assets and liabilities — the challenge lies in untangling years of opaque transactions, incomplete projects, and alleged misconduct that have left deep scars on depositor trust.
