Odisha EOW arrests two more accused in Rs 8 Cr SBI fraud case
The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) in Bhubaneswar arrested two more people on Sunday for their alleged involvement in a bank fraud case worth nearly Rs 8 crore.
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Bhubaneswar: The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) in Bhubaneswar arrested two more people on Sunday for their alleged involvement in a bank fraud case worth nearly Rs 8 crore.
Samaresh Ranjan Das and Hemanta Panda have been named as the accused. Panda is the Secretary of Smruti Multi-Purpose Cooperative Society Ltd., while Das is a suspended Civil Supplies Inspector.
Previously, Asutosh Acharya, the then-Manager-cum-Field Officer of the State Bank of India's Phulbani branch, was arrested in connection with the fraud. He had illegally recommended and processed 59 Xpress Credit Loans intended for salaried individuals and 26 pension loans intended for pensioners to non-salaried individuals and non-pensioners.
He then misappropriated Rs 8,01,87,000 by transferring it to the accounts of his family members and relatives. According to EOW, the fraud occurred between September 2021 and September 2022.
His father, mother, and father-in-law (deceased) were loan recipients, despite the fact that they were not pensioners and thus were not eligible for a loan.
The loans were approved based on the accused's recommendation via forged documents such as salary slips. The sanctioned loan amounts were transferred to the borrowers' savings accounts without their knowledge, and the funds were then transferred to other accounts, including those of his family members, relatives, and Das & Smruti Multi-Purpose Cooperative Society Ltd, Naharakanta, Balianta.
"The investigation revealed that Rs 1.46 crore and Rs 47,43,104 were directly credited to Das' accounts and more than Rs 3 crore to Smruti Multi-Purpose Cooperative Society Ltd and were misappropriated by the accused persons, who then placed the same in illegal money circulation."
The accused, a highly ambitious individual looking to make a quick buck, attempted to make easy money by investing the loan amount in a profitable business. To cover it up, they also paid some of the loans' initial EMIs, according to the EOW.
