4 Assam bank officials gave fictitious SHG loans, pulled off ₹8 crore fraud

SILCHAR: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has booked four Assam Gramin Vikash Bank officials for an ₹8 crore fraud they are accused of pulling off by sanctioning loans to fictitious self-help groups and transferring the money into their account.

The four officials include assistant manager Prasanta Borah, head of the Madhopur branch in Jorhat. The CBI’s First Information Report was filed on a June 14 complaint by the AGVB, a government-owned Regional Rural Bank headquartered in Guwahati. They are currently under suspension.

HT has reviewed a copy of the FIR registered on June 22.

According to a CBI statement, the agency on Tuesday conducted searches at 7 places in Assam including residential and official premises of the accused at Jorhat, Tinsukia and Dibrugarh and one place in West Bengal which led to the recovery of incriminating documents.

According to the bank’s complaint, Borah executed unauthorised transactions by way of illegal transfers from the branch office’s Self Help Group Cash Credit and Self Help Group Savings Bank accounts, “disguising the transfers of misappropriated funds with fictitious beneficiaries” and transferring the funds to his personal account at State Bank of India in Jorhat.

“The accused thereby caused an alleged wrongful loss to the bank of Rs.8,28,42,900/- (approx.) and corresponding gain to themselves,” CBI said in a statement on Tuesday.

According to the FIR, Borah acted in connivance with the branch’s assistant managers, Priyankshu Pallabh Gogoi and Sohan Dutta and an office assistant Satyajit Chalha

“A case has been registered against them and some others on the allegations of a criminal conspiracy and fraudulently causing loss to the bank,” CBI said.