Two arrested for swindling Rs 6.2cr from spinning mill

Coimbatore: The district crime branch police on Monday arrested two men for swindling Rs 6.2 crore from a spinning mill at Karumathampatti. Police have also registered a case against two officials of Tamil Nadu Mercantile Bank, who were involved in the scam. The officials are absconding.
C Natarajan, 61, managing director of Sri Dhanalakhsmi Spintex Private Limited, at Karumathampatti lodged a complaint with superintendent of police Sujit Kumar that general manager K Kannan and accountant Vinoth alias Vivekkumar, along with some officials of Tamil Nadu Mercantile Bank on Trichy Road, had swindled the money. His wife Leelavathi is a director of the mill, which he has been running for the past 24 years.
In his complaint, Natarajan said when he approached the bank, where he operates two accounts since 2006, for a loan in March 2019, the bank authorities told him that there were pending dues from the previous loan.
Immediately, he verified the account and came to know that Vinoth had transferred money to bank accounts of his wife, general manager Kannan and a few others with the help of assistant general manager of the bank, Sivasubramaniam, and manager Sivachandran. Natarajan had lodged a complaint with the bank authorities, who suspended the officials.
He said the mill management had borrowed Rs 36 crore from the bank in 2010. From October 2018, the bank had asked the mill management to pay Rs 53 lakh every month. Vinoth had submitted a forged letter to the bank that the mill could only pay Rs 21.4 lakh per month, but he collected Rs 53 lakh from the mill and deposited only Rs 21.4 lakh in the bank.
In this way, Vinoth and Kannan had swindled Rs 6.2 crore for more than four years, the complaint said.
Based on the complaint, the police registered an FIR against Vinoth, Kannan and two officials of TMB under sections 120 (B), 408, 409, 420, 464, 468, 471 and 477 A of the Indian Penal Code.
Later, they arrested Vinoth, 36, of Kaniyur and K Kannan, 41, a native of Aravakurichi in Karur district. They were remanded in judicial custody on Monday. Vinoth had been working in the mill for 10 years and Kannan had been for six years.
Police have also formed special teams to nab the bank officials.