Ahmedabad Bank Manager Sentenced to 3 Years for Rs 80 Lakh Fraud
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Synopsis
A Special CBI court in Ahmedabad has sentenced a former bank manager to three years in prison and fined him Rs 1.5 lakh for sanctioning loans worth Rs 80 lakh based on fraudulent documents, exposing systemic failures in due diligence.
Key Takeaways
- Former bank manager sentenced to three years.
- Involved in Rs 80 lakh fraud scheme.
- Forged documents used for loan approvals.
- CBI investigation revealed serious misconduct.
- Highlighting lapses in banking due diligence.
New Delhi, Feb 11 (NationPress) A former chief manager of a public sector bank in Ahmedabad has been sentenced to three years' imprisonment by a Special CBI court, along with a fine of Rs 1.5 lakh, in a fraud case involving the sanctioning of loans totaling Rs 80 lakh based on forged documents.
The Special CBI Court in Ahmedabad handed down the sentence to Jeevangine Srinivasa Rao, who was then the Chief Manager of the Bank of India, S.M. Road Branch, after the CBI conducted a thorough investigation and presented pivotal evidence that established his guilt.
The CBI initiated the case on October 30, 2003, against Rao and others on charges of cheating, using forged documents as authentic to obtain credit facilities, forgery of valuable security, and criminal misconduct under the Prevention of Corruption Act.
It was claimed that the accused private individuals submitted fake collateral security, opened an account in the name of a machinery supplier, and deposited a cheque issued by the bank for machinery purchase into that account.
The CBI stated that the accused public servant allegedly failed to perform due diligence while approving the credit facility and even destroyed documents related to the fraudulent collateral security submitted by the borrower.
During the investigation, it was disclosed that Rao sanctioned loans as part of a conspiracy with private individuals, including a working capital loan of Rs 30 lakh, a letter of credit for Rs 25 lakh, and a term loan of Rs 25 lakh, all based on forged collateral security, resulting in a wrongful loss to the bank and unjust gain to the beneficiary amounting to Rs 80 lakh.
The CBI asserted that Rao did not conduct adequate pre-sanction and post-sanction inquiries regarding the private firm and its business operations when approving the loans.
Rao was expected to exercise greater caution in accepting any new securities provided by the defaulter-accused private firm, especially after it became apparent that the firm had previously submitted bogus documents for collateral security, as stated by the CBI.
Additionally, Rao, in furtherance of his criminal conspiracy, accepted a fraudulent equitable mortgage related to Plot No. 72, Vayana village, District Gandhinagar.
Upon concluding the investigation, the CBI filed a chargesheet on December 23, 2005, against all accused, including those convicted and sentenced by the Special CBI Court.
