CBI conducts searches in Syndicate Bank fraud case

NEW DELHI: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) said on Tuesday it is investigating an alleged ` 1,000-crore scam carried out at the public-sector Syndicate Bank by a group of businessmen, at a time when state-run lenders are struggling to deal with bad loans and financial frauds.

Officials said they searched a dozen locations in the National Capital Region and Rajasthan for evidence against the suspects, who duped the bank with fake cheques, letters of credit and insurance policies over five years.

The fraud revealed “a shocking lack or collapse of internal due- diligence and monitoring procedures ,” said a source, with several senior bank officials allegedly involved.

The development came on a day finance minister Arun Jaitley told Parliament that over three years the government ordered the Serious Fraud Investigation Office to probe alleged fraud against 196 companies.

The CBI has named five bank officials, three businessmen and a chartered accountant in its first information report. “The roles of other senior bank officials not named in the FIR are being examined too. Questioning of the accused and suspects will begin soon,” said a source.

A spokesperson of the agency said the transactions of fake cheques ranged between ` 40 lakh and ` 5 crore.

About two years ago, the CBI arrested Syndicate Bank’s chairman and managing director SK Jain for allegedly accepting a bribe of ` 50 lakh to increase the credit limit of a private company. The agency also arrested 11 others, including the chief of a Delhibased steel company.

The CBI is also investigating allegations of money laundering at the Bank of Baroda.