A cashier of the State Bank of Mysore in a branch in Chamarajnagar district has been booked by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for allegedly exchanging Rs. 1.51 crore of unaccounted money in demonetised notes with Rs. 100 notes. This is the fourth bank in the State that has come under the CBI scanner for perpetuating demonetisation-related frauds.
According to the first information report (FIR) filed by the CBI, Parashiva Murthy, head cashier of the SBM’s Kollegal branch, “entered into conspiracy with various private individuals and unknown public servants”.
Using his position as the custodian of the currency chest of the branch, he exchanged demonetised notes “without following the procedure” with the valid notes of around Rs. 1.51 crore between November 10 and 13.
Anticipating these rackets, the CBI had activated its network of sources in banks and received information of illegalities in the Kollegal branch.
In return for the scrapped Rs. 500 and Rs. 1,000 notes, Mr. Murthy had given legal tender notes of Rs. 100 across the cash counter without obtaining ID proof or any other approval.
The demonetised notes were deposited in the currency chest to “disguise it as genuinely exchanged currency notes.”
CBI sources said simultaneous searches were being conducted at Kollegal and other places in Karnataka to ascertain identities of individuals who had laundered their money through Mr. Murthy. The bank official was “likely to be arrested soon”, said an official.
The ACB office of the CBI in Bengaluru have registered a case under Indian Penal Code sections for criminal breach (Sections 120, 409) and cheating (Section 420), apart from sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act.
