Former bank official arrested for colluding with accused in business loan fraud

The Bank Fraud Wing of Central Crime Branch has arrested a former Assistant General Manager (AGM) of Bank of Baroda for allegedly colluding and abetting an accused involved in a bank fraud. 

The arrested person has been identified as B. Radhakrishnan, 61, who was AGM of the bank’s Egmore Branch. He was arrested by the police in Hyderabad and brought to Chennai. Originally, Leena Gohain, Assistant General Manager and branch head of Bank of Baroda lodged a complaint against Lemooria Foods Pvt. Ltd., and its directors G. Rajalakshmi and K. Sathish Babu for cheating the bank and failing to repay a loan of ₹1.8 crore. 

According to the complainant, the company was floated for setting up a manufacturing plant of ‘Ready to Drink fruit juice and juice powder’ in SIDCO Industrial Estate, Pattaravakkam in Ambattur. Though they obtained a business loan of ₹2.6 crore under the pretext of purchasing machinery for the plant from Corporate Bank Branch in May 2018, they did not buy any machinery, it was alleged. Besides, they also failed to repay around ₹1.8 crore. 

However, the borrower company and its directors in collusion with others defrauded the bank in pursuance of a well-knitted criminal conspiracy and with dishonest intention of causing wrongful loss to the bank and wrongful gain to themselves, the complaint said. 

Sathisbabu and three others had already been arrested in connection with the case. Police were on the look out for Radhakrishnan who was absconding. Police said that since Radhakrishnan had sanctioned the loan in collusion with others, he was the main suspect in the case. Thereby, he caused a loss to the bank too, the police added. 

Published - November 30, 2024 12:31 am IST