ED Raids 12 Locations in Pune Over Luxury Car Loan Fraud Linked to Ex-SBI Manager
Pune, 28th November 2025: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday carried out coordinated searches at 12 locations in Pune, covering homes and commercial offices, as part of its probe into an alleged high-value vehicle loan fraud. The crackdown focused on borrowers, automobile dealers and a former senior official of the State Bank of India (SBI).
Officials said the former bank officer is suspected of approving and recommending loans far beyond permissible limits, which enabled several individuals to acquire premium cars — including brands like Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Volvo and Land Rover — through fraudulent practices. The ongoing money laundering inquiry stems from FIRs earlier registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Pune’s Shivajinagar Police Station.
The ED has identified former SBI chief manager Amar Kulkarni as the key conspirator. Kulkarni, who was posted at the bank’s University Road branch between 2017 and 2019, allegedly misused his authority and colluded with an auto loan counsellor, Aditya Sethia, as well as multiple borrowers to cause significant losses to the bank.
According to investigators, the accused secured substantial auto loans on the basis of forged documents. “Loan files were processed without proper verification and clear breaches of lending norms were committed,” an official aware of the findings said on condition of anonymity.
Probe teams have also outlined the alleged modus operandi. Fake and inflated vehicle price quotations were frequently submitted to the bank, allowing applicants to reduce the amount they needed to contribute as margin money and obtain larger loans than actually required.
The ED said further examination of seized documents and digital data is underway to quantify the total fraud and identify additional beneficiaries of the scheme. Additional action under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) is expected as the investigation progresses.
