: A major scam worth over Rs 1.35 crore was unearthed some months back in the city's main branch of State Bank of India. An official at the Kingsway branch allegedly siphoned off money from accounts of Non-Resident Indians (NRI) to an account operated by him.
The bank only recently filed a complaint with the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), naming as accused a senior official heading the NRI section - Anup Rajurkar. The complaint also names some unknown persons, probably officials from the same branch. Bank sources said the scam may be worth more than what was projected, since full details of transaction are yet to be ascertained.
SBI Kingsway branch's deputy general manager (operations and credit network-III) Dilipkumar Poddar confirmed the development and said Rajurkar has been suspended by the bank ever since the scam broke out. "We've approached the CBI to inquire into the issue since the embezzled amount is over Rs 1 crore. Simultaneously, bank's parallel enquiry is also underway," he told TOI.
He added that since the siphoning of funds was over many years, it was not possible to specify the exact amount and how many officials were involved.
Interestingly, the bank opted to file a complaint with the CBI, and has not yet lodged an FIR against Rajurkar at any police station.
A source in the CBI anti-corruption branch said the possibility of the involvement of other employees can't be ruled out considering the fact that the amount was huge. "Though the misappropriation was detected earlier, the complaint was filed in April against Rajurkar and others. We're probing all aspects. SBI officials estimated the misappropriated funds at Rs 1.35 crores, but the amount may go up as many NRIs had accounts in the bank," he said.
CBI sources said Rajurkar was the only official in the NRI accounts section and allegedly used to provide fake receipts to clients who deposited money. He then transferred those funds into his own accounts. For that purpose, he had activated a dormant account in the name of his relative. He had also procured an ATM card of his relative's account and after siphoning off the money into that account, he used to withdraw it through ATMs.
Bank sources said that the embezzlement was detected last year, but the bank officials deliberately kept the issue under wraps to escape ignominy. Ironically, the accused had gained the trust of all senior officials and no one had suspected he was up to no good. He was also provided with vital security details, like the bank's password, since other senior officials had hardly any knowledge about NRI accounts. The processes in NRI accounts are a bit complicated since money is deposited in currencies other than Indian rupee. Taking undue advantage of the situation, Rajurkar allegedly diverted a fortune worth crores meant to be deposited in NRI accounts.
The issue was kept strictly confidential even after a team of senior officials from SBI branches in Mumbai and Delhi visited the city to enquire into the misappropriation of funds.
Moreover, Rajurkar is also believed to be very close to top BJP office-bearers in the city. So, he also exerted political pressure on SBI not to disclose his name or take any coercive action against him. Rajurkar couldn't be contacted for his comments, however sources added that even the bank wanted to shield its senior officials and therefore did not file a police complaint till date.
Accounting Wizardy
The mastermind in the SBI fraud ensured that all the accounting entries were right when he pocked some money from an account. If a NRI came to create a fixed deposit, he would accept the funds and also issue a fixed deposit receipt. An entry would also be made in the 'nostro' account at Kolkata, where the foreign exchange transactions are recorded.
He later activated a dormant account of one of his kin and slowly the amount received from the NRI was transferred into this account through various entries crediting the sum. This continued over a period time, say sources. Further investigations into the type of entries through which the NRIs' money came to be diverted to other accounts is still under way.
The bank only recently filed a complaint with the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), naming as accused a senior official heading the NRI section - Anup Rajurkar. The complaint also names some unknown persons, probably officials from the same branch. Bank sources said the scam may be worth more than what was projected, since full details of transaction are yet to be ascertained.
SBI Kingsway branch's deputy general manager (operations and credit network-III) Dilipkumar Poddar confirmed the development and said Rajurkar has been suspended by the bank ever since the scam broke out. "We've approached the CBI to inquire into the issue since the embezzled amount is over Rs 1 crore. Simultaneously, bank's parallel enquiry is also underway," he told TOI.
He added that since the siphoning of funds was over many years, it was not possible to specify the exact amount and how many officials were involved.
Interestingly, the bank opted to file a complaint with the CBI, and has not yet lodged an FIR against Rajurkar at any police station.
A source in the CBI anti-corruption branch said the possibility of the involvement of other employees can't be ruled out considering the fact that the amount was huge. "Though the misappropriation was detected earlier, the complaint was filed in April against Rajurkar and others. We're probing all aspects. SBI officials estimated the misappropriated funds at Rs 1.35 crores, but the amount may go up as many NRIs had accounts in the bank," he said.
CBI sources said Rajurkar was the only official in the NRI accounts section and allegedly used to provide fake receipts to clients who deposited money. He then transferred those funds into his own accounts. For that purpose, he had activated a dormant account in the name of his relative. He had also procured an ATM card of his relative's account and after siphoning off the money into that account, he used to withdraw it through ATMs.
Bank sources said that the embezzlement was detected last year, but the bank officials deliberately kept the issue under wraps to escape ignominy. Ironically, the accused had gained the trust of all senior officials and no one had suspected he was up to no good. He was also provided with vital security details, like the bank's password, since other senior officials had hardly any knowledge about NRI accounts. The processes in NRI accounts are a bit complicated since money is deposited in currencies other than Indian rupee. Taking undue advantage of the situation, Rajurkar allegedly diverted a fortune worth crores meant to be deposited in NRI accounts.
The issue was kept strictly confidential even after a team of senior officials from SBI branches in Mumbai and Delhi visited the city to enquire into the misappropriation of funds.
Moreover, Rajurkar is also believed to be very close to top BJP office-bearers in the city. So, he also exerted political pressure on SBI not to disclose his name or take any coercive action against him. Rajurkar couldn't be contacted for his comments, however sources added that even the bank wanted to shield its senior officials and therefore did not file a police complaint till date.
Accounting Wizardy
The mastermind in the SBI fraud ensured that all the accounting entries were right when he pocked some money from an account. If a NRI came to create a fixed deposit, he would accept the funds and also issue a fixed deposit receipt. An entry would also be made in the 'nostro' account at Kolkata, where the foreign exchange transactions are recorded.
He later activated a dormant account of one of his kin and slowly the amount received from the NRI was transferred into this account through various entries crediting the sum. This continued over a period time, say sources. Further investigations into the type of entries through which the NRIs' money came to be diverted to other accounts is still under way.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Thanks For Visiting www.resultshub.net