A special CBI court has delivered its judgment in a 2008 loan fraud case involving Vijaya Bank and Roshan Electrical Pvt Ltd. Vijaya Bank was a PSU bank which was merged with Bank of Baroda on 1 April 2019 with its head office in Bangalore, Karnataka, India. The court sentenced Anitha Mathias, a director of the company, to three years in jail and imposed a fine of Rs 1 crore, stating that she played an active role in managing the firm and was directly involved in the fraudulent activities.
The court also found Shridhar Shetty, the Assistant General Manager of Vijaya Bank’s Goregaon branch, guilty of conspiring in the fraud. He was sentenced to one year in jail and fined Rs 50,000. However, the court acquitted Mahesh Kotian, the manager of Bharat Cooperative Bank, due to lack of evidence, while the case against Anitha’s husband, Maxima Mathias, was closed as he passed away during the trial.
The case began when Vijaya Bank initiated an internal inquiry following an anonymous complaint. According to the CBI’s Economic Offences Wing, Roshan Electrical had long maintained accounts with Bharat Cooperative Bank and enjoyed a cash credit limit of Rs 12 crore. In 2008, company director Maxima Mathias sought to transfer this account to Vijaya Bank and requested a higher cash credit limit of Rs 30 crore and a bank guarantee of Rs 10 crore.
Despite concerns, Shetty sanctioned Rs 20 crore as cash credit and Rs 10 lakh as bank guarantee, supported by a confidential report from Bharat Cooperative Bank that failed to mention key details such as four sister concerns of the firm and multiple dishonoured cheques. Investigators claimed that Shetty released Rs 21 crore—far more than the approved takeover amount of Rs 13.02 crore—without ensuring the transfer of a Rs 3 crore term deposit that was supposed to serve as security.
During the trial, both Anitha and Shetty argued that they were wrongly implicated, but the court rejected their claims. It held that Anitha was actively involved in the company’s operations and that Shetty knowingly violated procedures, making him part of the conspiracy. The court also observed that although the CBI did not fully investigate Kotian’s alleged role in suppressing facts, there was insufficient evidence to convict him. The verdict highlights serious procedural lapses and underscores the court’s intent to send a strong message against financial fraud and misuse of banking systems.
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