PNB manager, three others held for siphoning Rs 1.7cr Anyonya bank FD

Vadodara: Four persons including branch manager of Punjab National Bank (PNB) and a film financier were arrested by the detection of crime branch (DCB) on Monday for allegedly committing a fraud of Rs 1.75 crore. The accused siphoned money that was deposited by liquidator of Anyonya Cooperative Bank Ltd (ACBL) in the Diwalipura branch of PNB in January this year.
According to the police, Rahul alias Sachin Shah (35), a resident of Mumbai, is one of the key conspirators in the fraud. “Shah was earlier in the business of import/export and used to keep relations with bank managers. He shifted from Mumbai to Vadodara some time back as his girlfriend, being treated for tuberculosis, showed signs of improvement. The duo took a house on rent here,” said Jaydeepsinh Jadeja, DCP (crime).
Shah started a finance firm in the city and came in contact with another accused Amol Mohod, who is branch manager of PNB, Diwalipura. Amol was aware of the money deposited by ACBL liquidator as fixed deposit in PNB. He and Shah made a plan to siphon off the money by creating fake documents. They involved the other two accused Kiran Kumar Panchal, resident of Ahmedabad and Bhupesh Surti, resident of Mumbai.
The gang made bogus letterhead of ACBL, bogus PAN card and FD receipts. “Surti posed as ACBL liquidator and produced the fake receipts and documents in PNB demanding transfer of money to Central Bank of India. Amol accepted the documents and approved the transfer to Central Bank of India, Karelibaug where the accused had opened a bank account,” Jadeja told TOI.
Once the money was deposited in Central Bank of India, the accused transferred it to the bank accounts of two firms run by Shah who withdrew the money. The gang also withdrew the fix deposit of Rs 25 lakh that they made in Central Bank of India earlier this year.