BENGALURU: The Anti-Corruption Bureau of CBI, Bengaluru, has busted a scam in the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB), similar to the one that was recently unearthed in the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA).
It was recently uncovered that BDA had lost a lot of money due to diversion of funds. A CBI investigation has now revealed that officials of KSPCB and the State Bank of Mysore (SBM) colluded with private persons to divert funds, running into crores of rupees, to a private firm.
The investigation has also revealed that officials of Punjab National Bank are involved in the scam. The accused deposited the diverted funds in the same bank in the form of fixed deposits.
The CBI took up the investigation based on a complaint filed by K Nageswara Rao, General Manager, State Bank of Mysore (SBM), Bengaluru, on March 3, 2015, against the then Assistant Manager V Ramesh, SBM, and other unknown officials of the bank and KSPCB. Ramesh was accused of giving sanction to a corresponding wrongful gain.
Modus operandi
The officials of the bank and KSPCB entered into a criminal conspiracy with some persons. They submitted fake documents and availed of a draft facility of `9 crore against the two fixed deposits of `10 crore — `5 crore each of the KSPCB — with SBM.
During investigation, it was found that the `9 crore was credited into the account of one R Sampath Kumar, Managing Director of Unified Metals and Minerals Pvt Ltd and Unique Services Minmetals Pvt Ltd.Sources in CBI told Express that one Jigar Janakaraj Sompura from Ahmedabad, in conspiracy with other accused persons — Padmini Krishnamoorthy, Mahaveer Jain, Palvinder Singh, working in Punjab National Bank, Karol Bagh branch, New Delhi, and one of its customers, Parminder Singh — arranged the loan fraudulently from the funds of `10 crore belonging to KSPCB and invested it in the form of fixed deposit with the SBM, Bengaluru. This is how they caused a loss of `9 crore of public money, to the SBM and KSPCB.
Sampath Kumar confessed that the credit was arranged by Padmini Krishnamoorthy and her associate Mahaveer Jain, who stated that the amount was arranged with the assistance of two other accused by forging the loan forms and fixed deposit receipts. Ramesh also confessed to this during investigation.
Krishnamoorthy and the witness Pankaj Kaushik stated that bank loan documents and FDR receipts were forged by Janakaraj, who is accused No. 4 and arrested on June 19.
During interrogation, Janakraj disclosed that he committed the offence on the request made by Padmini on behalf of Sampath Kumar and admitted to have received money for the same.
“Janakaraj played a pivotal role in arranging the fixed deposits from KSPCB and fraudulently arranging the bank loan documents and Fixed Deposit Receipts. The search conducted at his residence at Ahmedabad also yielded recovery of material objects which are forwarded to CSFL, Hyderabad for expert opinion”, sources in CBI told Express.