The general manager and staff of SyndicateBank have been booked for cheating and forgery after they were allegedly found misappropriating ₹48 crore belonging to the Karnataka State Agricultural Marketing Board.
Based on a complaint filed by Kari Gowda, MD of the board, the Commercial Street police filed an FIR against the accused last week. In his complaint, Mr. Gowda stated that the board had asked quotation from various banks to keep ₹100 crore in fixed deposits, looking for the bank offering the highest interest. SyndicateBank’s Uttarahalli branch was picked, following which the board transferred the money in November 2019 with a request to split it into two FDs of ₹50 cro r e each.
The cheating came to light when the board sought details of the FD in January. The assistant manager, Jayaram, informed that his bank had only ₹52 crore as FD from the board. He also issued certificates on the same and said the remaining amount had been transferred to various accounts.
When the board showed the certificate issued by the bank on the remaining amount, Mr. Jayaram confirmed that the certificate issued for ₹48 crore was fake.
Further enquiries by the board revealed that the Uttarahalli branch manager and staff had misused the funds and misappropriated it. Subsequently, Mr. Gowda approached the police to initiate criminal action. The police have sought detailed records from the board to further investigation.
