Three Goa cricket officials arrested for alleged fraud

Goa Cricket Association (GCA) president Chetan Desai, its secretary Vinod Phadke and treasurer Akbar Mulla have been arrested by police for alleged fraud. Desai is also the chairman of the BCCI's marketing committee.

A first information report (FIR) had been filed against the trio by the economic offences wing (EOW) of Goa Police on June 4. The police had registered a case against the accused under sections 408, 409 (criminal breach of trust), 419 (cheating by impersonation), 463, 464, 468 (forged documents), 471 (fraud), 420 (cheating) and 120 B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code.

According to Shekhar Salkar, the acting president of the Goa Cricket Association between November 2014 and June 2015, Desai, Phadke and Mulla had encashed a TV subsidy from the BCCI worth INR 2.87 crore.

The Indian board had sent the cheque on October 23, 2006, when Desai had been the GCA secretary, Phadke the treasurer and Dayanand Narvekar the president. The cheque was valid for six months.

Salkar said a fake account, in the name of GCA, was opened in the Panjim branch of Development Credit Bank on April 10, 2007. "Phadke pretended to be the president, Desai was the secretary and Mulla as treasurer. The cheque was realised on April 13, 2007. The three accused then started to withdraw amounts and emptied the account by March 29, 2008. So it did not reflect in the balance sheet."

The FIR, a copy of which is with ESPNcricinfo, filed in the Ribander police station against Desai, Phadke and Mulla on Wednesday, said "the above noted accused persons who were the members and signatory authority for Goa Cricket Association hatched a criminal conspiracy by impersonating and posing as president, secretary and treasurer of Goa Cricket Association and further prepared forged, fake documents and resolution of Goa Cricket Association and submitted the same to Development Credit Bank, Panjai Branch, for opening an account in Development Credit Bank in the name of Goa Cricket Association and thereby misappropriated the funds of TV subsidy sent by Board of Control for Cricket in India to Goa Cricket Association thereby cheating Goa Cricket Association for tune of Rs. 2.87 Crores."

In the FIR, it is also mentioned that Desai, Phadke and Mulla withdrew INR 26 lakh from Federal Bank account of the GCA on the "pretext" of giving it to a company called HAKO enterprise which, it was later found, had not received any funds.

Phadke had been India's team manager for the ODI series against South Africa in 2015, and at the Under-19 World Cup in 2012 as well.