SBI suspends 3 officials, orders probe

The State Bank of India on Friday suspended three officials for their role in transportation of cash totalling ₹40 crore from its currency chest in Nalgonda district to another bank branch by an open trolley attached to a mini-truck.

It was unprecedented and something that “cannot be tolerated”, Chief General Manager of SBI’s Hyderabad Circle J. Swaminathan said about Thursday’s incident that took people and bankers by surprise. It was a violation of the guidelines on cash transportation and that was “why we have taken strict action against the officials involved and ordered an inquiry by a General Manager” rank official.

Further action against the officials would be based on the inquiry report, he said, adding that the probe was expected to take a few days.

The Andhra Pradesh Grameena Vikas Bank, to whose branch the cash was transported, will prepare a report to be placed before its chairman, who is out of station, to decide on the course of action against the officials concerned, sources in the regional rural bank said. Incidentally, APGVB is a sponsored bank of the SBI.

On Thursday, five banks had brought vehicles with police escort to move cash from the currency chest to their branches for disbursement under the Rythu Bandhu scheme.

The APGVB, Mr.Swaminathan said, had arranged the vehicle and police escort to which the SBI officials had provided cash. “We take such incidents seriously and cannot tolerate this kind of behaviour... taken severest action... will take it to logical end,” he said.

The SBI, the senior banker said, had also reiterated instructions on cash movement to all its branches so that such incident was not repeated.

A leader of bank employees association sought to attribute the incident to the pressure that had built up on the bankers in view of the launch of the scheme.

Initial information available with the banks shows that cheques for around ₹200 crore had been encashed by beneficiaries of the scheme.

This was comparatively less given that bankers were expecting farmers to rush to the banks.

While cheques totalling ₹30 crore were encashed – ₹10 crore at SBI branches – on Thursday, the sum involved on Friday was in the range of ₹160-170 crore, banking industry sources said.