Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara clarified that the state government has not referred the case to the CBI, but the Central agency has taken action based on the complaint of the bank.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has registered a case against bank officials and government servants in connection with the misappropriation of government funds from Karnataka Maharshi Valmiki Scheduled Tribe Development Corporation where Rs 93 crore was siphoned off in just one day.
Based on the complaint of Union Bank of India, the Banking Securities Fraud unit of CBI in Bengaluru booked Suchismita Raul, then MG Road branch head of the bank, Deepa D, then deputy branch head of the same branch, V Krishnamurthy, then credit office of the same branch, unknown private persons and unknown public servants on June 3.
The bank has placed all the three accused officials under suspension.
The bank’s deputy general manager and regional head of Bengaluru east stated in the complaint that Rs 89.63 crore public money was defrauded and Rs 5 crore has been recovered and Rs 84.63 crore is yet to be recovered.
The bank alleged that the Karnataka Maharshi Valmiki Scheduled Tribe Development Corporation has informed the bank that it has not received any cheque book, passbook or statements of accounts and that the transfers from accounts are unauthorised and that all the signatures, seals and letterheads used were fake.
The bank further stated that the beneficiaries were unknown to them and they have not issued any letter or advice to transfer funds to such beneficiaries.
The accused were booked under 120B (criminal conspiracy), 409 ((criminal breach of trust by public servants, bankers etc)), 420 (cheating), 467 (forgery) and 468 ((forgery for the purpose of cheating)) of Indian Penal Code (IPC) and 13(2) (criminal misconduct) and 13(1)(a) (public servant who fraudulently misappropriates) of Prevention of Corruption Act.
The misappropriation had come to light after P Chandrashekaran, who was involved in auditing, died by suicide on May 26 detailing the fraud and naming the people involved in a six-page death note.
Earlier this week, the Karnataka government which constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) arrested former managing director of the corporation J J Padmanabh, and accounts officer Parashuram G Durugannavar.
On Monday, the SIT arrested Satyanarayana, the chairman of First Finance Credit Co-Operative Society Limited from Hyderabad. The police suspect Satyanarayana had a larger role to play in creating fictitious accounts.
Meanwhile, Home Minister G Parameshwara clarified on Wednesday that the state government has not referred the case to the CBI, but the Central agency has taken action based on the complaint of the bank.
Amidst allegations that Youth Affairs, Sports and Scheduled Tribes Welfare Minister B Nagendra is involved in the fraud, the minister had said that he has never asked anyone to transfer any money to any account.