The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Mumbai police has learned that wanted former chairman Hiren Bhanu of the New India Co-operative Bank and his wife, Gauri Bhanu, the acting chairperson and vice-chairperson of the bank, purchased multiple properties between 2019 and 2024. Officials suspect that these properties could be proceeds of crime, as the Rs 122 crore embezzlement at the bank occurred during this period and is currently under investigation by the EOW. 

The EOW is exploring the possibility of utilising the newly added sections of the BNSS to seize properties belonging to the absconding couple, as the MPID Act—which empowers the police to seize property without court permission—cannot be applied in this case.