Former bank staff held for cheating

CHENNAI: A 45-year-old former staff of a leading bank has been arrested for allegedly cheating several senior citizens by promising high returns on their investments. Police said that his targets were those above 60 years of age. The accused has been identified as D Arikumar from Chetpet.

Police said that he was working as business development manager of a leading bank until 2018 and was handling fixed deposits. The victim, Chandramathi Asirwatham, who retired a few years ago, lodged a complaint with the Pulianthope police, stating that he lost `5 lakh to the fraudster who promised high returns on investment.

A senior police officer said they traced the accused with the help of Cyber Crime Cell. “He collected data of persons who had fixed deposits from the bank where he was working earlier,” said the police officer. He approached the elderly for investment in a finance firm which is deceptively similar to the name of a finance firm. Police seized Rs 1.40 crore investment in equity shares, 50 sovereigns of gold jewellery, a two-wheeler and two cars from the accused. The case was transferred to the Central Crime Branch for further investigation.