Big Fraud: Rs 8.1 Crore Loan Fraud in SBI, Customers submitted Fake Documents, EOW arrests 4 people
On Monday, the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) arrested four individuals involved in a major bank fraud case worth Rs 8.1 crore. The suspects were taken into custody after a detailed investigation into their fraudulent activities.
The Arrests
The arrested individuals include Smruti Ranjan Sethy and M. Dibyashree Jyoti Ranjan, who were apprehended in Jagatsinghpur district. Niranjan Behera and Debasish Behera were arrested in Bhubaneswar’s Nayapalli area. The arrests are connected to a fraud case that was filed on April 7, following a complaint made by Shiba Sundara Sahoo, the Regional Manager of the State Bank of India in Bhubaneswar.
How the Fraud Was Committed
According to the complaint, the accused were part of a conspiracy where they secured 234 Xpress Credit loans, amounting to Rs 8.1 crore, from different branches of State Bank of India between 2021 and 2023. They used fake documents to apply for these loans.
These documents included forged employment records from various companies like Capital Trust Ltd., Corporate Infotech Pvt. Ltd., Falcon Marine Exports Ltd., G4S Secure Solutions Pvt. Ltd., and several others. The fraudulent documents included salary certificates, employment details, bank statements, and Know Your Customer (KYC) documents.
The loans, which were meant for corporate sector employees, were granted to ineligible individuals by using these forged records. Once the loans were disbursed, the borrowers stopped making their monthly payments, causing the accounts to turn into Non-Performing Assets (NPA). This left a remaining outstanding balance of Rs 4.77 crore.
Financial Transactions and Seizures
During the investigation, it was revealed that significant amounts of money were transferred to the accounts of the arrested suspects. The amounts included Rs 19.08 lakh, Rs 2.42 lakh, Rs 94,000, and Rs 50,000 transferred to the accounts of Smruti Ranjan, Dibyashree, Niranjan, and Debasish, respectively.
The accused were involved in preparing the fake documents and acted as intermediaries to make financial gains from the fraud.
Seized Materials
As part of the investigation, police seized several incriminating items, including one laptop and five mobile phones. These materials will be analyzed further to support the case against the accused.
Court Proceedings
After their arrest, the suspects were presented in the Odisha Protection of Interests of Depositors Court in Cuttack. The court has sent them to 14-day judicial custody while the investigation continues.
