Two bankers awarded five-year rigorous imprisonment

The Special Judge for CBI Cases, Hyderabad, on Wednesday convicted two bankers of Union Bank of India in a fraud case and sentenced them to five years of rigorous imprisonment and imposed a fine of ₹75,000 each.

Pillendla Phani Prasad and Chintakuntla Pandurangam Chalapathi, former branch manager and assistant manager respectively of the Union Bank of India, Asif Nagar branch, and Yerram Koteswara Rao, a proprietor of a private company, the CBI in a note said, conspired to sanction 23 group housing loans without proper identification of the borrowers based on false documents amounting to ₹1.15 crore.

The sanctioned loan amount was withdrawn by the said owner and a part of the amount was diverted for purposes for which the loan was not sanctioned. Some houses were not completed, and some were not constructed at all.

It was further alleged that the said owner had received money from other borrowers who had taken loan from Andhra Bank for the same properties. All the accounts became non-performing assets.

Searches were conducted on the premises of the accused in December 2005 and Y. Koteswara Rao was arrested during the course of investigation. A charge sheet was filed on May 18, 2007 and Koteswara Rao died during the trial.

The two accused bank officers were found guilty.