Archana Betageri, an assistant branch manager of Union Bank of India in Kurubagonda in Karnataka, has been arrested for defrauding customers of over ₹1.62 crore. This is a detailed account of the case:
Betageri was serving as the in-charge branch manager at Kurubagonda for the last two-and-a-half years. During this time, she allegedly committed a series of frauds, including:
- Not depositing money and jewellery collected from customers: Betageri is accused of collecting cash and jewellery from customers for various purposes, such as opening accounts, making deposits, and availing loans. However, she allegedly did not deposit this money and jewellery into the bank’s accounts.
- Looting the bank’s ATM: Betageri is also accused of looting the bank’s ATM with the help of two accomplices. They allegedly broke into the ATM and took away ₹31.33 lakh in cash.
- Taking away pledged gold jewellery: Betageri allegedly took away gold jewellery pledged by 13 customers for loans worth ₹49.47 lakh.
Betageri’s alleged frauds came to light after the branch manager, Raviraj, noticed discrepancies in the bank’s accounts. He filed a complaint with the Haveri CEN (Cyber Economic and Narcotics Crime) Police.
The police registered a case against Betageri and two of her accomplices, daily wage worker Shanthappa Yalagacchi and business correspondent Praveen Chikkalingadahalli. They arrested Betageri on October 26, 2023.
During the investigation, the police found that Betageri had misused the money she collected from customers instead of crediting it to their accounts. She had also allegedly taken away documents from the bank’s locker.
Betageri has been accused of misuse of power, breach of trust, creating fake accounts and data, and looting the bank’s ATM. She is currently in police custody and further investigation is underway.