The manager of SBI Ramanthapur branch, Ganga Mallaiah Bhageeratha, in Uppal, has been arrested by police for embezzling Rs 3.3 crore from customers’ loan accounts. He transferred the funds into his own and his family members’ accounts. Bhageeratha faces charges of cheating, criminal conspiracy, forgery, and criminal breach of trust. The funds were siphoned from more than 20 accounts in increments of Rs 15 lakh each.
Bhageeratha collaborated with Shaik Saidulu, manager of CAG branch, Banjara Hills, in sanctioning personal loans to ineligible accounts across various SBI branches in Telangana. They used fake documents with forged signatures to justify the loans, claiming amounts higher than the eligible sum and instructing account holders to transfer the excess into their personal accounts under the guise of bank deposits.
Bhageeratha was remanded to judicial custody on Tuesday, while Saidulu had been previously arrested by Hyderabad police a few days earlier.